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JOURNAL OF THE CEYLON BRANCH
OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, 1919
VOLUME XXVII - Extra Number
MALDIVIAN
LINGUISTIC STUDIES
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JOURNAL OF THE CEYLON BRANCH
OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, 1919
VOLUME XXVII - Extra Number
MALDIVIAN
LINGUISTIC STUDIES
WILHELM GEIGER.
EDITED BY
H.C.P. BELL
ASIAN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
NEW DELHI ★ MADRAS ★ 1996
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First ruuiiMieu : eoiombo, 1919
First AES Reprint : New Delhi, 1 996
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Published by J. Jetley
for ASIAN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
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Printed at Subham Offset
Shahdara, Delhi -110 032
JOURNAL
OF THE
CEYLON BRANCH
OF THE
ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,
1919.
VOLUME XXVII. — Extra Number.
MALDIVIAN
LINGUISTIC STUDIES.
By Professor Wilhelm Geiger.
Translated from the German by Mrs. J . C. Willis.
EDITED BY H. C. P. BELL, C.C.S.,
Honorary Secretary (Retired).
COLOMBO :
H. C. COTTLE, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CEYLON.
1919.
CONTENTS.
SECTION I.
PAGE
Introduction . . . . . . 1
I- — The MAldivian Language . . . . 9
Vocabularies . . . 9
Texts . . . . 10
Vocabularies in Europe . . . . n
“ Copenhagen Vocabulary ” .. .. H
“ London Vocabulary ” „ . . . 12
Maldivian Words in the “ London Vocabulary ” .. 15
II- — The MAldivian Writing . . 20
Alphabets . . . . 21
Maldivian Writing . . . . , . 22
“ London Vocabulary ” Alphabets . . 24
Maldivian Orthography . . 26
Maldivian Alphabet Signs . . . 29
III- — Aids to the MAldivian Language : —
1. — Sentences : Maldivian and English . . 30
2. — Sentences : Sinhalese, Maldivian, and English . . 35
3. — Stories : Sinhalese, Maldivian, and English: —
A. — The Horse and the Donkey . . 42
B. — The Wise Judge . . 45
C. — The Lion, the Ass, and the Jackal . . 47
IV. — MAldivian Letters : —
1. — Malim’s Letter . . . . 49
2. — Sultan’s Missive . . 54
SECTION II.
The Grammar oe the MAldivian Language . . 59
I. — Substantives . . . . 59
(a) Expression of the Numbers ; ( b ) Expression of
the Cases . . . . . . 63-64
II. — Adjectives . . . . 69
(1) Attributive; (2) Predicative; (3) Comparative.. 69
III. — Numerals . . . . 70
(1) Cardinal Numbers ; (2) Ordinal Numbers .. 70-73
IV. — Pronouns . . . . 75
(1) Personal; (2) Reflective; (3) Demonstrative;
(4) Other Pronouns .. .. 75-76
V. — Verbs . . * • 1 . . 78
1 .—Agreements of Maldivian with Sinhalese .. 78
(1) Passive; (2) Infinitive; (3) Gerunds; (4) Com¬
pound Verbs . . . . . . 78-81
2. — Tenses and Moods . . . . 82
(a) Present ; (6) Future ; (c) Preterite ; ( d ) Im¬
perative ; (e) Conditional . . . . 82-89
PAGE
( iv )
SECTION III.
I. — MAldivian Verbal Inflexions . . 91
(J.) Present; (2) Preterite; (3) Future; (4) Im¬
perative ; (5) Compound Verb Paradigm ; (6)
Single Forms and Short Sentences . . 92-98
II. — MAldivian Linguistic Sounds . . 99
Maldivian Word Forms . . 99
Sinhalese Word Forms . . 100
Maldivian Words from Prakrit, &c. . • 101
Maldivian and. Sinhalese Word Forms • • 102
Vowel Sounds . . . . • • 103
Double Consonants . . • . 104
Long Vowels l . . . 105
Nasal . . . . • • 107
Palatals . . . . . . 108
Mute . . . . . . 109
Stop-gaps . . . . 110
Accent . . . . . . 1 10
Vowel Assimilation . . . . Ill
Sound Change . . . . ..Ill
Other Comparisons . . . . 112
Vowel Alterations .. ..112
Root Vowel Changes .. .. HI
Consonant Changes . . 115
Initial Letters .. ..117
Final Letters .. .. ..118
APPENDICES.
A. — Pioneers in MAldivian Linguistic Research . . 125
B. — The Leyden Vocabulary . . . . 141
C. — The 'Old and Modern MAldivian Alphabets .. 149
D. — MAldivian Letters . . . . 169
PLATES.
Plate I. — MAldive Alphabets (Geiger).
Plate II. — MAldive Alphabets (Christopher ; Gray).
Plate III. — MAldive MAlim’s Letter (A.D. 1837).
Plate IV. — MAldive SultAn’s Missive (A.D. 1795).
Plate V. — MAldive Alphabet (Leyden Vocabulary) and
Sinhalese Numerals.
Plate V. * — Sinhalese “Lit Akuru.”
Plate VI. — “Dives Akuru” Alphabet.
Plate VII. — “Dives Akuru” Alphabet.
Plate VIII. — “ Gabuli TAna ” Manuscript.
Plate IX.— MAldive Commercial Letter ( circa A.D. 1875).
PREFACE.
The Maldive Islands have been a Dependency of the
British Government in Ceylon since 1796, continuing to pay
Annual Tribute. But comparatively little is known, even at
this day, about the Group, and still less regarding the Language,
which is peculiar to it.
The recognized authorities on the Maldivian Language, up
to the close of last century, have been few indeed — Francis
Pyrard (1615), Willmott Christopher (1841), and Albert Gray
(1878).
But between 1900 and 1902 were printed, in the Sitzungs-
berichte der Kgl. Bayer, AJcademie der Wissenschaften, of
Munich, three learned Papers by Professor Wilhelm Geiger,
entitled Mdldivische Studien, I. (pp. 641-684, with one
Plate, headed Mdldivische Alphabets), II. (pp. 371-387),
III. (pp. 107-132), which have very materially advanced our
knowledge of the Structure of the Language.
The importance of these unique “ Linguistic Studies ”
induced the Council of the Asiatic Society of Ceylon to
apply to Professor Geiger and the Deutsche Morgenlandische
Gesettschaft, at Halle, for permission to publish an EngEsh
Translation in its Journal. This permission was courteously
granted; and in 1913 a Translation of the three Parts of
Mdldivische Studien was completed for the Society by Mrs.
J. C. WElis.
The marked and consistent abihty displayed throughout
by Mrs. Willis, in her translation of highly technical matter,
can only be properly reaHzed by those in a position to compare
the German Text with its excellent EngEsh version.*
* A bound copy of the German Text is in the Colombo Museum
Library.
( vi )
The difficult nature of the letterpress, its occasional
turgidity (necessitating exceptional pains in translating, to
reproduce the writer’s full meaning), added to pulling
abbreviations, have not deterred Mrs. Willis from preparing
for the Society, with infinite patience and meticulous care,
an eminently satisfactory rendering, which reproduces the
more or less specialized phraseology of the German original
with admirable fidelity and success.
Mrs. Willis’s good wine needed little or no bush. Nathless,
to ensure as accurate a presentation as possible of certain
passages in the German, perchance open to possible doubt,
the entire manuscript was carefully revised by Mr. John
Harwarcl, M.A., President of the Society, who managed to
snatch time, amid his arduous official duties as Director of
Education, to compare the English Translation closely with
the German Text, and insert in places valuable emendations
making for additional clearness.
Mr. Harward found himself unable to see the Translation
through the press before leaving Ceylon in 1916, to seek needed
and well-deserved rest, on retirement from the Government
Service, after a lengthened period of strenuous and invaluable
work.
His mantle, as Editor, has ultimately fallen on an ex-
Honorary Secretary of the Society, to whom the Fates in 1879
granted a short visit to the Maldives, and the opportunity
subsequently of making a partial study — uncompleted, owing
to his transference to the charge of the Archaeological Survey —
of the Islands, their History, Customs, Trade, and Language.*
Despite admitted limitations for the adequate fulfilment
of such a task, he has ventured, faut de mieux, with some
diffidence, to essay, on behalf of the Council,! the somewhat
invidious task of editing the Translation of the “ Studies ”
for publication in the Society’s Journal.
* Embodied in a Monograph on “ The Maidive Islands ” (Ceylon
Government Sessional Paper XLIII., 1881 ; issued 1882).
t Resolution of Council, Ceylon Asiatio Society, March 11, 1918.
\
( Yii )
The “ editorial functions ” in the issue of this English version
of Professor Geiger’s work have, on the whole, been compara¬
tively light, and to a great degree confined to formal details :
to wit, the splitting up of some of the long wearisome paragraphs
of the original text ; the occasional insertion of desirable words
within brackets to help the sense ; adding sub -heads to ensure
enhanced clarity and convenience ; and transposing to more
suitable positions Notes which in the German ( i.e ., Section I.)
are lumped together at the end.
Every endeavour has been made to retain, as far as practic¬
able, the Professor’s own spelling of Maldivian, Sinhalese, and
other Oriental words ; whilst making it consistent with the
System of Transliteration adopted by the Ceylon Government
and the forms of diacritical type available in the founts of the
Ceylon Government Printing Office. Fortunately few changes
proved to be needed ; and those almost entirely for the better.*
To Mr. C. H. Collins, B.A., C.C.S., Honorary Secretary of the
Society, to Mr. H. C. Cottle, the Government Printer, and to
I. Abdul Hamid Didi Effendi, Maldivian Government Repre¬
sentative in Ceylon, the Editor owes a special meed of thanks.
Mr. Collins fell in most cordially with the Editor’s proposal
to issue the “ Studies ” as an “ Extra Number ” f of the
Society’s Journal, and in the form in which it is now
presented : further, he generously denied no expense for the
preparation of the several Plates necessary to a proper under¬
standing of the printed matter. In addition, Mr. Collins’s
* Professor Geiger used R, C, J, with small v above, and final n with
super-script dot. These have been supplanted in the English Transla¬
tion by R, c, J, and & ; but want of semi-nasal ( sannaka ) type has
necessitated the employment of the bindu, or full anuawdra, in such
words as ii^dagena, honda, &c.
For extra clearness Maldivian words have been printed in small
capitals, whilst Sinhalese, &c., appear in ordinary italic type.
f The only other “Extra Number” of its Journal issued by the
Ceylon Asiatic Society also related to the Maidive Islands. It was
published in 1882, as part of Volume VII., and contained “ I bn Batuta
in the Maldives and Ceylon ,” translated from the French by Albert
Gray, late of the Ceylon Civil Service.
( viii )
knowledge of German has been more than once very readily
lent to the better solving of a knotty passage.
To Mr. Cottle it is entirely due that the “ Studies ” make
their appearance in that unrivalled excellence of type and
general finish which distinguish publications emanating from
the Ceylon Government Press.
Without his ungrudging advice, and personal aid, this
“ Extra Number ” could not possibly have been issued in its
present neat dress and completeness.
Finally, from Abdul Hamid Didi Effendi the Editor has
received most generous, self-denying, and invaluable help in
elucidating obscurities in Maldivian texts, sentences, &c., and
in throwing a flood of brilliant light on the modem Maidive
Alphabet.
Of the Author’s own masterly achievement of a hard task,
his “ Studies ” assuredly “ give ample room and verge” for
unstinted praise.
If, perchance, there asserts itself unmistakably “ the Teutonic
literary temperament,” so-called, for setting store dispropor¬
tionately large by the meritorious lexicographic work due to
a special protege, Hasan-bin Adam, at the cost of belittling,
or wholly ignoring, the efforts of other no less worthy labourers
in the field — efforts, in the case of the stand-out “ pioneers,”
Pyrard, Christopher, and Gray, which, without doubt, cannot
but have greatly simplified the Professor’s researches — if at
times an undue tendency to “ magnify the eyo,”
I am -Sir Oracle,
And when I ope my lips let no dog bark,
is amusingly pronounced — let not, on that account, full justice
be denied to the real “ merits ” of a great scholar, even though
one may be not altogether “ careless his faults to scan.”
Any learned savant, beheof whateverrace, who, like Professor
Geiger, actuated by worthy motive, and despite very consider¬
able drawbacks, has toiled to give a clear lead to students in the
study of a tongue still almost unknown, can claim the right,
in all fairness, to generous acknowledgment for sterling work.
( ix )
Having, like Dr. Samuel Johnson, “sot limits to” his
“work,” which was “ended though not completed,” the
Professor offers a just plea for considerate treatment at the
hands of critics : —
The principal object of my “ Maldivian Studies ” must be to
put in motion an energetic beginning to Scientific Investigation
of the Maldivian Language on the very spot ; where alone it can
really be carried out with satisfactory results.
The foregoing Notes on Maldivian Grammar give us, of course,
only a general and incomplete picture of the Structure of the
Language. They are a first attempt, and should be judged as
such.
He who knows the many purely external difficulties and
obstacles with which one meets in the East in researches which he
at the foundation of work such as mine ; he who has experienced
how the best intentions and the most enthusiastic zeal are con¬
stantly checked and crippled by a thousand petty trifles, will
judge the deficiencies of my work kindly.
Knowledge must be indulgent. It may be an easy thing to
point out and criticise this or that defect ; but of greater worth
than criticism is energetic co-operation.
A final word touching the four Appendices, and Plates II.
to IX.
For thus supplementing Professor Geiger’s Text, and
Plate I. issued with it, the Editor, whilst accepting full
responsibility, does not feel that any apology is due, in view
of the special reason justifying its compilation stated in the
preamble of each Appendix.
It is hoped that these Addenda, which render the “ Studies ”
more comprehensive, may help further to facilitate prose¬
cution of research by those interested in the semi-unknown
Maldivian Language.
H. C. P. BELL.
New Year’s Day, 1919.
17-18
ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA.
Page 1, footnote | 5 page 2, line 24 and footnotes * and f ; page 8,
line 13 ; page 9, footnote || ; page 54, line 2 : for “1883” read “1882.”
Page 6, footnote J: for “ 1882, Extra Number, VII.,” read “ Vol.
VII., Extra Number, 1882.”
Page 8, footnote * : for “ J. A. Young ” read “I. A. Young”; for
“ Mittheilungen ” read “ Mitteilungen.”
Page 25, footnote f : omit “ indeed not improbably ” ; add “ See
Appendix C, page 159.”
Page 27, fcotnote * : for “ all ” read “ whole.”
Page 28, line 12 of the footnotes : omit “ either ” ; read “ as a
nasal or mute, or without parentheses in the middle when used to
double, or nasalise, the connected consonant.”
Page 49, footnote | : for “ 1837 ” read “ 1838.”
Page 57, footnotes \ and § ; page 58, footnote f ; page 66, footnote * ;
page 117, footnote * : for “ (X) ” read “ a.”
Page 58, line 11 : for “ vadinu ” read “ vadinu .”
Page 79, footnote * : for “ goeunu doreve ” read “ goeunu-
d6reve”; omit “ = governor-ttjrai (English + Tamil).”
Page 92, footnote * : for “ bahi(g) ” read “ bahia.”
Page 126, line 1 : for “ kaltjbili-mas ” read “ kalubili-mas.”
Page 129, footnote * : add “ A record has since come to light
showing that Lieutenant Young, still ill, reached Ceylon from the
Maldives, in a sailing vessel, in 1835. This, therefore, settles the
question.”
Page 130, line 9 : add “ This Tower is built on a peculiar plan, but
very strong. The centre is taken up with solid masonry, much in the
form of an immense screw, the spiral ascent winding round this centre
pillar until a trap door ends the staircase, where the centre pillar and
the top of the outer case of the Tower unite, and together will stand
for ages.”
Pages 141 and 145, last paragraphs : for “ Indian ” read “ India.”
Page 157, line 29 : for “ Scripts ” read “ Script .”
Page 160, footnote f : for “ t ” read “ t.”
Page 170, footnote f: for “ hiti-gas-daru-gA ” read “hiti-gas-
daru-g6.”
ADDITIONAL ERRATA.
Page 25, footnote' J : add at end , “B., Ed."
Page 125: for “1313-1314” read “ 1343-1341.”
MALDIVIAN
LINGUISTIC STUDIES
By Professor Wiihelm Geiger.
SECTION I.*
INTRODUCTION.
The Maldives f are a large group of many islands which
extend in the Indian Ocean from 7° 6' North latitude to 0° 42'
South latitude, and from 72° 33' to 73° 44' East longitude.
Together with the Lakkadives and the Chagos Islands they
belong to a submarine mountain chain, on the summits of
which the coral polyps have built their reefs.
* Maldivische Studien I. (mit einer Tafel), Von W. Geiger. Vorgelegt
von E. Kuhn in der Phil os. -Phil ol. Classe am 1. Dezember, 1900.
Munchen, 1901.
f H. C. P. Bell, Ceylon Civil Service, The Maidive Islands : an Account
of the Physical Features, Climate, History, Inhabitants, Productions , and
Trade (Sessional Paper XLTII., 1881). Colombo, 1883.
This valuable compilation, which contains the whole of our know¬
ledge of the Maidive Islands up to the year 1883, has become very
scarce. Even in Colombo it was impossible for me to get hold of a
copy. I finally came into possession of one which formerly belonged
to Dr. Rost.
I may perhaps be permitted to borrow from Bell’s work some notes
on the Geography and Ethnography of the Maldives, as a general
explanatory Introduction to my “ Studies.” I have not, of course,
neglected to go back to the sources from which Bell himself drew.
17-18
B
9
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
The islands are grouped into “ Atolls ” — the Maldivian word,
as is well known, has passed as a termination into geographical
science — and these Atolls, as a rule, are surrounded by a barrier
reef, which protects them from storms and waves. In the
Northern Atolls, however, the reefs are washed away
The form of the individual islands is circular or oval. They
are only of very small extent, the length and breadth seldom
exceeding an English mile. The soil of the islands consists of
sand ; and in most islands there is thick jungle, from which
the crowns of the coconut palms lift their heads proudly in all
directions.
The principal Island is called malIs. It belongs to (a double)
Atoll (North and South) of the same name, and from it
the whole Archipelago has probably received its appellation.
On Male is the residence of the Sultan. The number of its
inhabitants is from 2,000 to 3,000.*
The climate of the Maldives does not seem unpleasant, for
the excessive heat is tempered by sea breezes ; but it is ex¬
tremely unhealthy. Foreigners are usually attacked, within
a short time, by severe abdominal disorders, which, if the
individual does not at once leave the Islands, seem iti most
cases to run a swift and fatal course.
As regards the inhabitants of the Maldives, it is impossible
to determine their total number. Bell (in 1883) estimated
them to be at least 30,000 : in former times there were doubtless
many more. The gradual decline in the number of the popu¬
lation seems, however, to have recently come to a standstill,
or even to have been succeeded by an increase.!
* Bell, loc. cit., 1883, p. 63. The Census of 1911 (p. 600) gives the
total a3 5,236 inhabitants.— B., Ed.
t Mr. Gray (Journal, jg.M.iS., 1878, new series, X., p. 197) puts the
population of the group at 20,000. Mr. Bell ( The Maidive Islands, 1883,
p. 53) considered this “ perhaps too low an estimate, and a total of
at least 30,000 may, with more probability, be assumed.” Mr. Bell
adds, “ that the population was in former days larger is admitted by
the Islanders themselves, who point with melancholy significance to
islands in nearly every Atoll now lying waste, where homesteads stood
of old. It is, however, satisfactory to find good grounds for the belief
Extba No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
3
The fact can scarcely be disputed, that, at a period of time
still unknown to us, the Maldives were colonized from Ceylon,
or, as also may be possible, were colonized at the same time
as Ceylon, by Aryan immigrants who came over from the
Continent of India.
The first view seems the more probable to me, owing to
reasons which appear on a study of the character of the
Maldivian language. This, in fact, shows a number of features
which are characteristic of the Sinhalese language, and which
have not arisen in the Prakrit foundation of Sinhalese, but
seem to have originated on Ceylon soil itself. In course of
time the Aryan stock of the Maldivian population would be
much mixed with Dra vidian and Arab blood ; so that the
physical type of the Maldivians can no longer be considered
a unit.
The fact that there is no trace of Buddhism on the Islands* *
must not surprise us too much : Islam has totally ousted this
religion.
that the gradual depopulation — mainly attributable to the proverbially
unhealthy climate — has not merely been arrested, but that, from the
closer connection now yearly being established with the outside world,
and the increased facilities for obtaining yearly necessaries of life, a
steady ro-action'is setting in.” ( Census Report, 1911, p. 499.)
This Census made the total population of the Maidive Islands to be
“ 72,237 (males, 39,244 ; females, 32,993),” pointing to 50,000 rather
than 30,000 as nearer the mark in the Eighties. — B., Ed.
* See Bell, loc. cit., p. 74, Buddhism on thk Maldives.
Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner (The Natives of the Maldives, Proceedings,
Cambridge Philos. Society, XI., Part I., 1900) unconsciously plays
the role of “Balaam” in an endeavour to1 condemn the theory of
Buddhism formerly existing on the Maldives : —
“ Mounds in Landu and Miladu of Miladummadulu Atoll, as also
in Haddumati, Suvadiva, and Addu Atolls, and Fua Mulaku Island,
suggest by their form a comparison with the dagabas of Anuradhapura.
“Gang, in Haddumati Atoll, was evidently a great religious centre,
having ruins of fourteen of these, some with smooth sides of squared
stone.
“ One, in Landu, appears to have had a kind of pit or well in the
centre, formed by squared blocks of Porites, and covered by two large
flat masses. Within this, in 1848, were found a number of gold or
brass ornamental discs.
4
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
The colour of the skin of the males is usually a dark copper ;
some of the women are decidedly pretty.
As regards the character of the Maldivians, I give some
statements from the Report of the two Englishmen, Lieuten¬
ants Young and Christopher, of the Indian Navy, who, in
the course of a Survey of the Maldivian Archipelago in the
years 1834-1836, spent several months at Male: —
“ They are a quiet, peaceable race, hospitable and kind to
strangers, though suspicious and distrustful of them. Unac¬
quainted, indeed, with the practice of the higher virtues, but
equally unfamiliar with vice in its darker forms, with desires and
wants circumscribed and limited, and the means of satisfying
them attainable without much labour, they have little incitement
to increased exertion for the purpose of augmenting their produc¬
tions ; and hence, in all probability, the little attention paid to
the improvement of their resources, and the absence of all care
regarding the amelioration of their condition. The apathy and
indifference evinced by them on these subjects seem, however, to
result in a great measure from feelings of contentment, though of
a spurious kind.” *
The religion of the Maldivians is Muhammadan. According
to Gray they embraced this religion about the year 1200.
Native tradition indicates Yusuf Shams-ud-din, from Tabriz,
in Persia, as the apostle of Islam in the Maldives. He died
in Male, and his grave there is held in great honour.
“ At Fua Mulaku a few oval six-sided beads, either of an extremely
hard clouded glass or of crystal, were found.
“ The presence of an immense Bo tree (M . boi gas) at Male, and
another in Fua Mulaku, is of no importance ; no traditions cling to
them. The tanks resemble those of Anuradhapura, but there is no
particular Buddhist type.
“ Indication of Buddhism might, indeed, be gleaned from the above,
but I found no other evidence in its support.”
“ Mounds,” with possible relic chambers (“ pit ” or “ well ”), which
“ suggest ” the “ dagabas of Anuradhapura ” ; “ tanks ” which re¬
semble the pokunu of that old Sinhalese Capital; buried metal, “orna¬
mental discs,” and “ oval beads,” glass or crystal — to say nothing of
the unexplained presence of two Bo trees (one at M416, the chief Island
itself) — are about as promising “ indication of Buddhism,” judged by
Ceylon archaeology, as one can well hope to find where Muhammadanism
(with its iconoclastic zeal) has existed for some eight centuries. — B., Ed.
* Transactions of the Geographical Society, Bombay, I., p. 66.
Extra No.— 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
5
But although Islam is the official religion, the old animistic
nature -worship, the belief in demons and spirits, in exorcism
and magic, plays the most important part * in the life of the
people.
“ The belief in the existence of spirits and supernatural beings,
who interfere, sometimes visibly, in human affairs for purposes
of evil, as also in extraordinary phenomena supposed to afford
intimation of pending calamity, is universal among the Islanders.
.... They believe also in the auspiciousness, or otherwise, of
certain days for particular transactions, no undertakings of any
importance to individuals, or to the public, being entered upon
without the priest being consulted to determine that point.
During recitations in Arabic of passages from the Koran, which is
a common practice, incense is kept burning, and when this takes
place on board a boat, the crew are always careful to fumigate
the rudder-head and tiller before the fire is extinguished .
Many individuals on the islands gain their livelihood by writing
charms, which are supposed to possess much virtue, not only as a
preventive against, but also a cure in most diseases. In order to
produce a curative effect the ink of a freshly-written charm is
washed off in water and drunk as a medicine.” f
So far as is known to me, the ancient historical writings
of the Sinhalese give no information about a colonization of
the Maldives by that people ; neither do they mention
any sovereignty which they at times exercised over the
Islands.
The first allusion to the Maldives is found in Ptolemy (the
■Second Century A.D.), who places a group of 1,378 little
* Geiger writes “die wichtigste rolled This is over-stating the case.
Gray ( Journal , R.A.S., 1878, new series, X., p. 180) puts it better : —
“ The picture presented by the modern religious state of the two
branches of the Sinhalese family is curious indeed. The one (Sinhalese)
has held to the cosmopolitan principles, the atheistic creed and the
simple worship of the Buddhist faith ; the other (Maldivian) has
adopted the exclusive monotheistic and ceremonious faith of Muham¬
mad. These religions have not, however, altered to any extent the
characteristics of the race, and both have suffered the co-existence of
the older worship of demons and of the elements — a common inheritance
of both branches of the family, but an alien to both their creeds.”' —
B., Ed.
f Transactions of the Geographical Society, Bombay, I., p. 76.
6
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
islands to the west of Taprobane (Ceylon).* There can scarcely
be a doubt that by these the Lakkadives and Maldives are
meant. After Ptolemy, and with reference to him, Pappus
of Alexandria speaks of 1,370 small islands which are near
Taprobane, and dependent on it.
In the Sixth Century, Cosmas Indicopleustes, who got his
information from Sopater, mentions a large number of islets
in the neighbourhood of Ceylon where fresh water and coconuts
are to be found throughout . f His statement is indeed striking ;
for on almost all the islands known at the present time there is
fresh water, and the richness of the Maldives in coconut palms
is a well-known fact.
The first visitor to the Maidive Islands to whom we are
indebted for a more accurate description is the famous Arabian
traveller of the Fourteenth Century, Ibn Batuta.J He
remained eighteen months on Male, and gives us a tolerably
*
detailed account of the condition of the Islands, of their
conversion to Islam, of their government, and of their trade
with India, China, and Yemen. §
In the Sixteenth Century the Portuguese made many
attempts to bring the Maldives under their dominion. Finally,
their independence was acknowledged in a Treaty ; in which,
however, the Portuguese reserved to themselves the exclusive
right of trade with them. ||
Almost thirty-five years later, on July 2, 1602, a French
Sjhip, with a band of adventurers on board, was driven ashore
among the Atolls. The crew were taken prisoners : some
died in consequence, others succeeded in escaping ; only four
remained, among them Francois Pyrard de Laval.
* Forbiger, Handbuch cler alien Geographie, 2 Aufl., II., p. 524 ;
Lassen, Ind. Altertumskunde, 2 Aufl., I., p. 246.
t Tennent, Ceylon, 1859, I., p. 538, note ii. ; p. 543.
J IbnBatuta in the Maldives and Ceylon. Translated from the French
of MM. Dofremery and Sanguinetti by Albert Gray. Journal, C.A.S.,
1882, Extra Number, VII. § Bell, The Maidive Islands, p. 25.
|| Regarding this Treaty, see the Hakluyt Society’s Pyrard, Vol. II.,
Appendix B. — B., Ed.
Extba No. — 1 919.1 maldivian linguistic studies. 7
Pyrarcl stayed five years in the Maldives. By his wise and
tactful conduct he gained the favour of the Sultan, so that he
had a tolerable amount of liberty, and could carry on trade.
Finally, when the Maldivian kingdom was plunged into the
confusion of war, he regained his freedom.
In 1607 the “King of Bengal” undertook an expedition to
the Maldives. His fleet attacked Male suddenly, without
encountering serious resistance, and returned with rich booty.
On the Bengal ships Pyrard and his three companions left
the Maldives.
Four years later, after many other adventures, Pyrard once
more safely trod the soil of his native land.
Pyrard ’s work, Voyage aux Indes Orientales, which is very
scarce, appeared for the first time in the year 1611, the second
edition in 1615-1616, the third in 1619.* It contains the most
complete description of the Maidive Islands which has hitherto
appeared, and still serves as a valuable source of information.
The Dutch followed the Portuguese in the Government of the
East Indian world ; and were followed by the English at the
close of the Eighteenth Century. After the latter took posses¬
sion of Ceylon, the sovereignty which the Dutch had wielded
over the Maldives passed automatically to their successors.!
* Pyrard’s Voyage was translated into English, for the Hakluyt
Society, from the Third French Edition of 1619, by Albert Gray and
H. C. P. Bell, of the Ceylon Civil Service. Two volumes, 1887-1890.
[Of Pyrard’s Voyage , four French Editions were issued : the first
(one volume, 8vo.) in 1611; the second (two volumes, 8vo.) in 1615;
the third (two volumes, 8vo., containing the Maldivian Vocabulary)
in 1619; and the last (one volume, 4to.) in 1679. — B., Ed.']
f “ Our (British) influence in the Maidive Islands, as thatof the Dutch
before us, is founded on the free will and consent of the Sultans. From
their confidence in our attachment and our power, they made themselves
the feudatories, first of Holland, and subsequently of Great Britain, by
placing themselves, of their own accord, under the protection of the
successive Governments in Ceylon . The present political status
of the Maldives is that of a semi-sovereign Stale, under the exclusive
protectorate of the British Government in Ceylon — a relation very
similar to that of the King of the Isle of Man with John of England,
established by Treaty of A.D. 1212.” — Bell, The Mdldive Islands,
Appendix A, pp. 123, 125. — B., Ed.
8
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XXVII.
In the years 1834-1836 a Survey of the Maidive Archipelago
was undertaken by Captain Moresby, at the instance of the
Bombay Government, since such a Survey was urgently
necessary in the interests of Marine Commerce.
On this occasion Lieutenants Young and Christopher spent
at the Maldives, and almost exclusively on Male island,
two to three months — from June 4 until August 17 and Sep¬
tember 9, 1834, respectively. They suffered severely from
fever, but were able during their stay to make a series of
important observations on the country and people, government
and commerce, manners, customs, and language, which they
subsequently collected into a Memoir *
This is full, and (until 1883 was) the most recent know¬
ledge of the Maidive Islands available. It must be considered,
so far as it goes, credible and reliable, but is, at the present
time, scarcely up to date.f
* Memoir on the Inhabitants of the Maldiva Islands, by Lieutenants
J. A. Young and W. Christopher, of the Indian Navy; Transactions of
the Geographical Society, Bombay , I., pp. 53-86. Gf. Captain Moresby’s
Report on the Maldivas ; loc. cit., pp. 102-108.
Among other notices of the Maldives and their inhabitants
are M. Haberlandt, Die Kultur der Eingeborcnen der Malediven,
Mittheilungen der Anthropologic ; Gesellschaft in Wien, 1888, XVIII.,
p. 29 seq. ; Rosset, Minikoi und seine Bewohner, Ausland, 1891, LXIV.,
pp. 16, 35, 67. Cf. Die Maldiven, Ausland, 1887, LX., pp. 761-764.
f Bell, The Maldive Islands, p. ii.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivtan linguistic studies.
9
I.— THE MALDIVIAN LANGUAGE.
After these general preliminary remarks, I now come tc the
Maldivian Language itself.
Our knowledge of this is very scanty, and almost entirely
confined to the vocabulary.
Vocabularies.
We possess two Vocabularies,* * * § which, however, can lay no
claim to completeness.
The first originated with Pyrard, 1602-1607, and appeared
in the Second and Third Editions of his Voyage aux Indes
Orientates .f
The second Vocabulary was compiled by Christopher during
his stay in Male in the year 1834, and in 1841 was printed
in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. $
Pyrard’s Vocabulary was subsequently published again
by Gray, and compared with that of Christopher. §
Gray’s P%per is the first attempt to discover the connection
between the Maldivian and Sinhalese languages.
A number of Maldivian words are found in Bell’s book, ||
already mentioned ; a few, too, which show the identity of
* See Appendix A. — B., Ed.
f A mistake. Pyrard’s Maldivian V ocabulary appeared in no edition
of his Voyage, save the third of 1619. — B., Ed.
J Vocabulary of the Maldivian Language. Compiled by Lieutenant
W. Christopher, I.N. : communicated to the Bombay Branch of the
R.A.S. by J. Wilson, D.D. Journal, R.A.S., 1841, VI., pp. 42-76.
§ Gray, The Maidive Islands : with a Vocabulary taken from Francois
Pyrard de Laval, 1602-1607. Journal, R.A.S. , 1878, new series, X.,
pp. 173-209.
A series of isolated remarks is also found in E. Kuhn, Ueber den
dltesten arischen Bestandteil des Sing ah Resischen Wortschatzes : Sitzungs-
her. der K. Bayer, Akademie d. W., Philos.-Philol. und Hist., Cl. IT.,
1879, p. 199 seq.
II Bell, The Mdldive Islands, 1883.
C
17-18
10
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
the language which is spoken on Minikoi with that of the
Maldivian Islands, occur in the communication of Rosset
previously mentioned.
Texts.
As regards the text of the Maldivian Language, we possess
(in print), up to the present time, only three Letters : one was
lithographed in facsimile and translated by Christopher ; * * * §
another by Bell ; f a third is given in Bennett’s Ceylon and its
Capabilities, London, 1843, along with an official translation. J
The last-mentioned Letter, however, is unknown, to me. §
I myself began my Maidive collection (of words, phrases,
&c.) in the winter of 1895-1896, during my stay in Ceylon.
As related in the Account of my Journey, I had the
opportunity of meeting a Maldivian of high rank, Ibrahim
Dicli,|| in Colombo, and, from his information, putting together
a vocabulary, as well as a number of Maldivian paradigms
and sentences.
My material has convinced me that only by a collection of
new texts can we expect to further our Maidive linguistic
studies.
Since my return (to Germany) I have kept up an unbroken
correspondence with my excellent Sinhalese friend, A. Mendis
Gunasekara, Mudaliyar ; and it is to him especially that I owe
the fact that I am now in a position to publish some con¬
tributions to the investigation of the Maldivian Language
which I hope are not without value.
I sent sentences to Mudaliyar Gunasekara which I wished
to have translated. He succeeded in discovering an Indian
* Journal, R. A. S., 1841, VI., pp. 44—45, 73-74. [Plate III. — B., Ed .]
t Bell, The M didive Islands, pp. 78-81. [Plate IV. — B., Ed.]
J Bennett, Ceylon and its Capabilities, London, 1843. See Bell, loc.
cit., p. 78, note 1, where the translation of a further Maldivian Letter,
given in Campbell’s Excursions in Ceylon, I., pp. 199-200, is mentioned.
§ Sitzungsber. der K. Bayer, Akademie d. W., 1896, pp. 213-215.
|| A. ThrAhirn Didi Effendi, Dorhimena-kilagefanu, Prime Minister to
His Highness the Sultan of the Maldives. — B., Ed.
Extra No— 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies. 11
merchant, named Sheik Ali, at the time residing in Colombo,
but who had lived for many years in the Maldives, and spoke
the language as his mother tongue.
Communicating with Sheik Ali (who neither wrote nor
spoke English) through the medium of Sinhalese and Tamil,
the Mudaliyar delivered the sentences written down by him
to me for further elaboration.* * * §
Vocabularies in Europe.
In conclusion, I have to mention the Maldivian materials
which are found in European Libraries. They are certainly
not very plentiful ; and, as far as I know, have not hitherto
been adequately valued by any inquirer, f
“Copenhagen Vocabulary.”
First, a short manuscript Vocabulary of the Maldivian
Language is found in the Library of Copenhagen, 1 By the
kind mediation of Professor Fausboll, I received the manu¬
script at Erlangen, and was able to enter its contents into
my list of Maidive words.
The Maldivian Writing § employed in this Vocabulary has
a quite unique style, differing considerably from the Writing
which I learnt, and which is used in the (two) Letters quoted
below.
In the little manuscript I also discovered the original of
a Maldivian missive which Sultan Muhammad Mu’in-ud-dfn
* It is with pleasure that I avail myself of this opportunity of publicly
thanking my active helpers. I rejoice that in A. Mendis Gunasekara,
Mudaliyar, I found a man specially fitted to act as an intermediary.
[It should be emphasized that the scholarly Mudaliyar must not, of
course, be in any way held responsible for some doubtful ijenderings
which have crept into the Professor’s Sinhalese transcripts here and
there. See infra,.— B., Ed.']
f See Appendix B.' — B., Ed.
% I indicate the “Copenhagen Vocabulary ” by K.V., the “London
Vocabulary ” by L.V.
§ Professor Geiger has not reproduced any of this L.V. writing (see
infra, page 22, top), unless it may be the three words in the gabuli
tAna alphabet given at bottom of his Table [Plate I.]. — B., Ed.
12
JOURNAL R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Iskandar sent to the English Governor in Colombo (kolubu
rasgefanu).* This is doubtless the Sultan of that name'
who in 1799 succeeded to the throne of his father, Hasan
Nur-ud-din.
“London Vocabulary.”
Secondly, in the Library of the London India Office is A
Vocabulary , Persian and Hindustani, f printed in Calcutta,
1808, and formerly belonging to the Bibliotheca Leydeniana.
In this book the Maldivian translation of every word is
entered, with a few exceptions, by a native of Himiti (in
Nilandu Atoll), named Hasan-bin-Adam.
Mr. Tawney was so kind as to send the book to me, and
with it a bundle of letters ; from which it appears that some
years ago, according to Mr. Bell’s wish, it had been sent to
Colombo. He showed it to some native Maldivians, who were
to examine the Vocabulary ; but they came to the conclusion
that it was full of mistakes and errors, and of little or no
value. J
This correspondence was indeed discouraging to me ; but
I did not allow myself to be deterred from putting the
Vocabulary to a test on my own account, and preparing a
copy for myself.
The result at which I arrived is happily much more favour¬
able. I 'regret to be obliged to say that the Maldivians
whose aid Mr. Bell sought, clearly did not take much pains
in the matter : perhaps they did not possess the necessary
knowledge of Persian and Hindustani.
At any rate they were in error in calling in question Hasan-
bin-Adam’s knowledge of their mother tongue. J
* How and. when did this official record, belonging to the British
Government, stray to Copenhagen — a “ far cry ” from Ceylon ? No
particulars are afforded. The year of the missive must be between
a.d. 1799-1835.— B., Ed.
f See footnote f on page 11, supra. — B., Ed.
t See Appendix B. Professor Geiger has allowed himself — not wisely
— to wander somewhat from the strict facts, which he had before him in
the “ bundle of letters ” kindly sent to him by Mr. Tawney. — B,, Ed.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies. 13
The “ London Vocabulary ” (which I have now to deal with
on the basis of my own observations) is, indeed, not free
from errors, and a considerable number of words contained
in it can be rejected at once as worthless. But the mis¬
takes can be partly explained on the general ground that
the Maldivian language does not possess an absolutely fixed
orthography.
The words which I characterize as worthless are not to be
set down to the ignorance of the translator, but are explained
by the praiseworthy, though naturally impracticable, en¬
deavour to give, wherever possible, a translation for every
Persian and Hindustani word.
Thus, there are in this Vocabulary numerous words (e.g.,
technical terms, &c.) for which there neither are, nor can be
found, equivalents in Maldivian.
In such cases, Hasan-bin-Adam got over the difficulty in two
ways : either he gave instead of the translation an explana¬
tory paraphrase, or he transliterated the Persian (or perhaps
Arabic) or Hindustani word into the Maldivian alphabet.
Of the “ paraphrases ” — using this expression on account
of its shortness — many are quite intelligible, and at least
show us that the translator understood his task.*
Thus, for example, the grammatical terms “ singular ” and
“plural” (p. 133) are written by him as eb-bas, “ one word,”
and gina-bas, “ many words.” Instead of “ barren ” (of a
woman), he says (p. 176) dari mai nuve,“ she does not become
mother of a child.” The Persian buz-i kuhi, “wild goats,” he
translates (p. 39) closely by farubada mati bakari, “ goats
op the hills.”
Many of the paraphrases may indeed be real terms ; for the
paraphrasing expressions do not seem at all strained to the
Maldivians, and are also found in Christopher’s Vocabulary.
Thus, for instance, fini-feivt-mau, i.e., “ dew-flower,” for
“ rose,” the same expression being found in L.V., p. 67.
* See footnote J on page 12, sv/pra. — B., Ed.
14
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XXVII.
The verb hunu-kuran, “ make hot ” — “ cook ” ; us-kuran,
“make high,” “raise”; ladu gannan, “ be ashamed,” and
others which occur in L.V., do not differ, as regards their
method of formation, from verbs like hus -kuran , “ empty ” ;
Dff-KURAN, “lower”; birun gannan, “be afraid,” in Chris¬
topher.
The expression mihun mara mihu, “ the man wrho kills
people” (p. 104), for “executioner,” we shall meet below, in
the story of “The Wise Judge.” Consequently, others, such
as dadu kora mihu, “ the man who tills the fields ” —
“ countryman ” ; or rori vtkka mihu, “ the man who sells
bread ” = “ baker,” may really be Maldivian and constantly
used. We find also in Christopher expressions like dag adit
tala mihun, for “smith.”
A really pretty and well-considered paraphrase is, for
example, mau-kori, “ flower enclosure,” for “ garden.” The
word, which might perhaps have been apt, goti, is well known
to our author : it occurs in several places ; but here he evidently
avoids it designedly, because it has the more general significance
of “ yard,” corresponding to the Anglo-Indian “ compound.” *
Further, as regards the Arabic, Persian, and Hindustani
words which occur in Maldivian guise in L.V., these are not
very numerous.
As examples, I mention (ci) the names of the Signs of the
Zodiac (p. 4), like hamalu, “Aries” = Ar. hamal ; asadu,
“ Leo ” = Ar. asad ; (b) expressions from the Islamic faith, like
nabi, “ prophet ” ; vali, “ saint ” ; imamu, “ religious leader ”
(p. 116) ; as well as (c) words like iradA, “ will,” “ resolution ” ;
KABtTLU, “ agreement ” ; masalatu, “ goods ” (p. 94) ; faidA
kurAn, “explain” (p. 196 ; Persian paidd) ; fikuru kurAn,
“consider” (p. 98) ; and many others.
* For “garden ” two words are recognized at Male : bagIcha ; g6tL
With MAtr-KOEi as a “well-considered” paraphrase, compare the Male
term for a “ beggar ” : e salan d± mIhA dura(n):lAbA', “ drive that
beggar (lit., the man-who-salams) away ” — the very acme of “ pretty ”
and euphemistic politeness. CJ. the former use in France of “ lea bom
hommee ” for “ lepers.” Other cases will readily occur to mind. — B., Ed.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies. 15
I have already said that these words can be eliminated as
worthless — at least for our scientific purposes. But it must
be mentioned emphatically that many of them, as a matter
of fact, may belong to the Maldivian vocabulary, which has
borrowed a good deal.
As regards doubt regarding the unreliability of the L.V.,
this is refuted by the faet that, without taking the Numerals
into account, I have counted, in round numbers, five hundred
Words which also occur, in like form and with the same
meaning, in Christopher’s list. By this its correctness is
proved.’
Further, it is not credible that all the remaining words
which occur in the L.V., but are missing from Christopher,
should be worthless.
Moreover, I am in a position to prove the correctness of a
whole series of words (which have not been quoted otherwise),
either by comparison with my own collection (Geiger), or by
etymology.
Some Maldivian Words in the “London Vocabulary.”
I subjoin the fist here, with the observation that it is by no
means exhaustive. But it is natural that I (in Germany), so
many thousand miles away from the land of origin, was not
in a position to verify all the new words of the L.V. ; and for
this reason especially deplore the fact that this could not be
I done at the time that the L.V. was in Bell’s hands, and his
Maldivian helpers were there.* I do not doubt that among
the words whose correctness I cannot confirm — preliminarily,
at least — there are many true Maldivian words.
1. adun, “ ointment for the eyes ” (p. 34) = Geiger,
andun ; S. andun ; P. anjana,. Forms with, and without,
the ante-consonantic nasal are very frequently found close
together. I heard handu, “ moon ” ; L.V. (p. 3), hadu :
Christopher lias hadu, but the cerebral is certainly incorrect.
* See footnote f on page 12, supra. — B., Ed.
16
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XXVTI.
I wrote kandu, “ ocean ” : Christopher and L.V. (p. 8) have
kadu. Cf. also Nos. 21, 31, 60, following. In these cases, it
appears to me that there is a difference of dialect.*
2. agu, “ price,” “ value ” (p. 74) = Geiger ; S. ago, ;
P. aggha ; L.V. (p. 186), agu-vAn, “ be worth,” “ to cost.”
3. arikari, “ side ” (p. 19) = Geiger ; K.V., “ rib.”
4. asei mirus, “ black pepper ” (p. 55) = Geiger, ase
mirus.
5. avi, “ sunshine ” (p. 2) = Geiger ; K.V. ; S. avu ; P.
atapa.
6. baniAda’, “ pious man,” “ believer ” (p. 178) = Geiger,
baniyadan mihe’, “ man of good habits ” ; opposed to kAlu
mihe’.
7. burikari, “ back ” (p. 18) = Geiger; K.V. : Christopher
has only buri.
8. burugadu, “ wheel of a cart ” (p. 78) = Geiger.
9. dalu, “horn” (p. 41) = Geiger ; S. dala ; P. ddthd,
“ tooth.” The meaning “ horn ” was also confirmed by me.
Christopher has only eddalu, “ivory,” e.g., “elephant’s
tooth.”
10. deli, “ charcoal ” (p. 9) = S. deli; Christopher, deli,
“ ink ” = L.V. (p. 127).
11. devi, “ demon ” (p. 2) = S. dev, “ good deity” ; P.
deva.
12. ennan, “ to come ” (p. 182) = S. enu. I have recorded
annAn.
* If perchance sounded, the n is never written, in hadu and kadu,
according to the Male standard.
Such forms, in the “London Vocabulary,” as, inter alia, ennAnt for
annAn, fefali (older, fotula) for fofali, fuhen for ahan, teli
for badiya, ugen for daskuladst, sufficiently attest “ a difference of
dialect ,” well known to exist even at the present day, and quite to be
expected, between the central Male Atoll type and that of Atolls to the
south, including, doubtless, a century or more ago, Nilandu Atoll, where
the author of the “ London Vocabulary ” (Maldivian) lived.' — B., Ed.
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
17
13. farAn, “to begin” (p. 186) = Geiger. Cf. S . patan,
“beginning”; patan gannu, “to begin”; P. patthdna,
patthdpeti. With respect to the equivalence of Maldivian
R and Sinhalese t, see Geiger, Litteratur und Sprache der
Singhalesen (Ind. Grdr., I, 10), p. 88.
14. fatas, “ ditch ” (p. 92) = S. patas, “ deep pit,” “ well.”
15. faturan, “ spread out ” (p. 190) = Geiger ; S. paturu-
vanu ; P. pattharati}
16. faulu, “ clear,” “ open ” (p. 158) = S. pahala ; P.
palcaia.
17. falan, “ bridge ” (p. 7) = Geiger ; S. palam.
18. fefali, “ red coral ” (p. 49) = Geiger, fofali. I
conjecture that in L.V. there is a slight clerical error, and
fofali is to be read.
19. fenijja, “to occur” (p. 185) = S. penenu; P. pannayati.
20. fiddiya, “ gall ” (p. 22) = S. pit ; P. pitta, “ gall ” +
diya, “ water.”
21. fidu, “ buttocks ”' (p. 44) = Geiger, findu, “ hips.”
22. foruvan, “ to cover,” “ clothe ” (p. 184) = Geiger.
Cf. below, III. 1 : 17. ( S. poruvanu ; P. pdrupati.
23. fuhen, “ to ask ” (p. 189) = P. pucchati. The word
is of especial interest, because a Sinhalese equivalent is no
longer preserved.
24. furan, “ to fill ” (p. 192) = S. puranu ; P. pureti.
25. gadiya, “ cart ” (pp. 62, 78) = Geiger ; Sheik Ali,
gAdi-dadi, “yoke.”
26. gomai, gumafulu, “prince ” (p. 108) = Geiger, goma,
“ princess.”
27. gui, “ excrement ” (p. 23) = S. gu ; P. gutha.
28. hafAn, “ to chew ” (p. 181) = S. hapanu.
29. h alula n, “ to make a noise ” (pp. 26, 182) == Geiger,
“ to bark ” : e.g., kutte’ halelaniye, “ a barking dog.”
30. haru, “ hard ” (p. 25) = Geiger. See below, III. 1 : 16.
31. harigadu, “ body ” (p. 15) = Geiger, harigandu.
d 17-18
]8
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
32. haturu, “ enemy ” (p. 99) = S. haturu.
33. hasfat, “ millepede ” (p. 46) = has, L.V. (p. 150) ;
hahe’, Geiger, “ thousand ” + fat, fai, L.V. (p. 20) ; fai,
K.V. ; fa, Christopher, “ foot.”
34. heilan, “ awake ” (p. 183) = Geiger, helu^, “ be
awake.”
35. hitu, “ thoughts ” (pp. 93, 135) = Geiger, hitun ; S.
liitu ; P. cilia.
36. hugu, “ asafoetida ” (p. 33) = Sans, hingu.
37. innan, “ to sit ” (p. 183) = S. indinu ; P. sidati.
38. irina, “ to sit ” (pp. 183, 190) = Geiger, irinna ; S.
hitinu; Prakrit citthai. The R in irina is perhaps simply
written by mistake ; but the K.V. likewise has iride. In
just the same way huri, “ is,” “ exists,” and huri are also
interchangeable .
39. itu, “tile” (p. 57) = Geiger. Cf. L.V. (p. 81), itu
anda mihu, “ man who bakes tiles.” The word is interesting :
it corresponds to the Sanskrit istaka or istikd ; in Sinhalese
it is wanting.
40. kanu, “ blind ” (p. 23) = Geiger ; S. kana ; P. If aim.
41. kekuri, “ cucumber ” (p. 69) = S. kekiri ; P. kakkdri.
42. kibu, “ crocodile ” (p. 45) = S. kimbul ; P. kumbMla.
The disappearance of the final l is purely Maldivian. Cf. mu,
“ root,” but mule’, “ a root ” ; ma, “ flower ” (Geiger), but
male’, “ a flower.”
43. reran, “ to weigh ” (p. 205) = S. kiranu.
44. kiri-mai, “ nurse ” (p. 11) = S. kiri-mav ; P. khira -f
matu.
45. kolu, “ cheek” (p. 17) = Geiger, ko {cf. 42) ; P. cos.
Perhaps = S. kopul.
46. koru, “ lame ” (p. 24) = S. kora ; P. khonda.
47. kotabiri, “ coriander ” (pp. 37, 69) = S. kotamburu.
48. kujja, “ child,” “ son ” (pp. 10, 175) = Geiger.
49. kulen, “ to play ” (p. 191) = S. kelinu ; Sans, keld-
yati, khelayad .
Extra No.— 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
19
50. kurubai, “ young coconut ” (p. 66) = Geiger, ku-
rumba ; S kuruihbd.
51. lakunu, “ spot,” “ time ” (p. 28) = S. lakunu ; P.
lalckhana.
52. madori, “ a weight ” (p. 120) = S. madata ; P. man-
jitthd.
53. meva, “ fruit ” (p. 64) = Geiger ; Persian ; L.V.
54. mugori, “ ichneumon ” (p. 41) = S. mugati.
55. mulo, “ axe,” “ hatchet ” (p. 84) = Geiger.
56. naran, “ to dance ” (p. 183) = S. natanu ; P. natta.
57. nianeti, “ insight,” “ understanding ” (p. 135) ; better
“intelligent” = S .nuvaneti.
58. siti, “ letter ” = Geiger. Cf. below, III. 1 : 21.
59. sungan, “ tax,” “ toll ” (p. 112) = S. sungam.
60. tabu, “ ari’ows ” (p. 56) = Geiger, tambu ; S. temba ;
P. thambha.
61. taburu-mau, “ lotus flower ” (p. 68) = S. tamburu; P.
tamarasa.
62. tala, “ palate ” (p. 18) = S. talla.
63. teli, “ pot ” (p. 60) = S. teli ; P. thali ; Sans1, sthdli.
64. udun, “ oven,” “ hearth,” “ fireplace ” (p. 60 ; on p. 9
incorrectly written adun) = Geiger, udun, undu ; S. udun ;
P. uddhana.
65. ufi, “ twig ” (p. 65) = Geiger, ofi.
66. ugen, “ to learn ” (p. 185) = S. ugannu ; P. ugganhdti.
67. ukulu, “ privy parts ” (p. 19) = S . ukul, “ hip.”
68. umagu, “ hollow,” “ hole ” (p. 153) = S. uman
( kaninu ).
69. VADA kuran, “ take revenge ” (p. 99) = S. vdda,
“ rage,” “ fury.”
70. veheni, “ it rains ” (p. 185) = S. vahinu ; P. vassati.
71. viyaeari-veri, “ merchant ” (p. 73) = Geiger. See
III. 1 : 22.
20
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
II— THE MALDIVIAN WRITING.
In the Memoir on the Inhabitants of the Maldiva Islands by
Lieutenants Young and Christopher there is the following
remark on the Maldivian Alphabet : —
“ The different written characters found on tombstones on the
Maldiva Islands are of three kinds. The most ancient are called
by the natives dewehi haktjra, which in all likelihood were used
by the first inhabitants, but now the knowledge of them is nearly
lost, being confined to a few individuals. In the Southern Atolls
a knowledge of this writing appears to have been retained longest,
for it is not remembered in the Northern ones at all, whereas
orders are now written at MALfb in this character for the inhabi¬
tants of the Southern Atolls. No old manuscripts with this
character are preserved. One peculiarity in the alphabet is, that
some of the consonants change their form according to the various
vowel-sounds with which they are united, the construction of the
letter being altogether different. This character is written from
the left hand.
“ The next is the Arabic, which is written in two different
ways, the old and new ; but the old method of forming the letters
is now discontinued. From the appearance of the tombstones it
is evident that the dewehi character was in use prior to this, for
the freshest inscription in that character bore more signs of age
than any we have seen in the Arabic. The multitude of inscrip¬
tions in the latter character is an evidence that it was very
extensively spread and known throughout the islands Both of
these characters were invariably carved in relief. The modem
Arabic character was apparently introduced about the same time
as the present native writing.
“ The modern alphabet contains eighteen letters, and is called
by the natives gabali-tana. ' There are some auxiliary letters
in it, derived from the Arabic and Persian, in common use, but
not included in the alphabet. It is written from the right
hand, and was introduced when the Portuguese garrison were
overcome, and Muhammadanism re-established by a Chief and
men from the Northern Atolls, and is now used throughout the
Islands .
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
21
“ There are several kinds of tAna writing ; and we are inclined
to think that the one at present used was not so generally adopted
until within the last fifty years, as many tombstones are evidently
inscribed in a character differing from the gabali-tAna : the
letters, at least, have a different sound, and the signs used for
vowels are different.
“ Letters of the alphabet are used as numerals, and they reckon
by twelves, as we do by tens.” * * * §
Alphabets.
In the Table f which I have added to these Studies all four
Alphabets are given completely.
The first two, (reproduced) in Columns I. and II., originate
from the “ London Vocabulary,” in which they are entered at
the end, with the remark that the first is called the divehi
akuru Alphabet. $
The Alphabet in Column III. is (copied from) the one which
Christopher gives as -the “ Ancient Form ” of the Maldivian
Alphabet. §
* Transactions of the Geographical Society, Bombay, T., pp. 68-69.
f See Plate I. — B., Ed.
t Photographic reproduction of “ the divas alphabet ” as given
in the “London Vocabulary,” and faithfully traced therefrom by
Mr. D. A. L. Perera, Muhandiram, Head Draughtsman (and later Native
Assistant), Archaeological Survey, during the short time the book was
in Mr. Bell’s hands at Anuradhapura, appears in Plate V. 1.
As will be seen, the characters are more carefully delineated (dots
and dashes, where given, being shown) than in Geiger’s Table, Columns
I., II. [Plate I.] ; which, moreover, reverses the proper order of the<
columns in the “ London Vocabulary and starts with h instead of m.
— B., Ed.
§ See Plate II. for the Plate of Comparative Alphabets given by Gray
(Journal, R.A.S., 1878, new series, X.).
Christopher’s copies of the Ancient Mdldive (evela) and Modern
Mdldive (gabuli tAna) Alphabets were reproduced correejtly by Gray;
except that Christopher, on the one hand, began his Alphabets from h
to v, followed by m to d, whilst Gray, for his part, reversed this order.
Both group the eight (8) letters, extra to the ordinary eighteen (18),
thus : Persian ch, p, t ; Arabic z, y, j, gh, th or dh.
Geiger, in his Table [Plate I.], has altered Christopher’s letter
transcripts eh, ch, j, gh, and th or dh, to b, c, j (headed by small
v), Greek g, and t (underlined), besides substituting the sign * for
Christopher’s avieni transliteration. He adds the n. — B., Ed.
22
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XXVII.
In Column IV., finally, I give the Modern Writing as I
myself have learnt it, and as it is used in the Letters hitherto
published.*
I intend, next, to detail the material, as far as it is accessible,
and make a series of observations on it.
Maldivian Writing.
We are still far from a history of the' Script, and any
far-reaching conclusion we make respecting the character of
the Maldivian Writing must be considered rash and uncertain,
until we have reliable copies — photographs, where this is
possible — of the inscriptions still existing.
In regard to the “ Ancient Form ” of the Maldivian Writing
in Column III., Gray has already written.
He shows its resemblance to the Ancient Sinhalese Alphabet
of Twelfth Century Inscriptions, by simply placing the respec¬
tive signs side by side. I
In single characters the agreement is, in fact, immediately
perceptible. The sign for r (11) resembles the Sinhalese p,
being only somewhat inclined to the right : the same
is the case with the signs for n (3) and t (13) : in the
signs for k (7) and G (15) the connection is unmistakable : in
others it seems more obscure ; but it always appears quite
probable.
TJie question is, whether Christopher’s “ Old ” Writing really
* The form of gabttli tAna recorded by Christopher (see Plate II.,
Gray’s reproduction) is that employed at Mdl6 Island (the Sultan’s
Capital) about 1835, or more than three-quarters of a century ago. The
present-day writing has naturally suffered some evolution.
This standard type, and, as such, that invariably used by A. Ibrahim
Didi Effendi, D jrhimena-kilagefanu, Prime Minister, and other educated
Male officials, appears in a number of letters written — in beautiful cali-
graphy — to Mr. Bell some years ago, and still carefully preserved. This
style differs from the somewhat stilted form of the alphabet noticeable
in Geiger’s Table, Column IV. [Plate I.]. — B., Ed.
t Journal, R.A.S., 1878, new series, X., p. 183, with Table.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies. 23
represents the oldest form of Maldivian Writing — whether it
corresponds to the divehi akuru.*
If this be the case — and I must remind the reader of what I
have said ?,k.-.:t the uncertainty of our conclusions — a really
remarkable result will follow.
The (Old) Maldivian Alphabet (given by Christopher) may
especially be compared with the Sinhalese signs which were
used in the Inscriptions of the Twelfth Century (as has been
done by Gray).
But we know that the period about the Ninth Century was
of out-standing importance in the history of Sinhalese Writing, f
Before this, the universal Asoka Script, with extremely slight
modifications, was in use (in Ceylon). Afterwards a Writing
appears which in general is based on the Asoka Alphabet, but
already shows traits of the Modern Sinhalese Writing. The
revolution is quite sudden and immediate.
This can only be explained by supposing that, in the
preceding period, the Writing used among the populace had
gradually deviated from that used in Inscriptions, so that the
latter could no longer be understood. For mohumental
purposes, also, therefore, they gave up using the old Asoka
Writing of the lapidaries, and employed the more cursive
Alphabet used in general intercourse.
As regards the Maldivians, it would follow that they did
not borrow their Writing from the Sinhalese until the Ninth
or Tenth Century ; or that, if they brought their Writing with
them, they did not settle in the Archipelago before this time.
In itself it would be quite conceivable, either that (a) the
Aryans coming from Ceylon were the first colonists of the
Maldives, or that (b) they met with an older aboriginal
population on the Islands.
But we must first see whether still older specimens of
Maldivian Writing do not turn up.
* See Appendix C.
t Geiger, Litteratur und Sprache der Singhalesen, Section 19-20.
24
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
“ London Vocabulary ” Alphabets.
I come now to the two Alphabets of the L.V., of which the
first is said to correspond to the divehi akuru.*
The Modern Maldivian Alphabet, as is well known, runs
from right to left ; the Old Alphabet is said to have had the
reverse direction.
This agrees quite strikingly with the Alphabets in the L.V.
The more recent (of those given in Columns I. and II.,
Table) is clearly the direct source of the Modern Alphabet, and
like this, also, has the right to left direction. We can without
difficulty derive one from the other, by changing, in each
^letter, the vertical and horizontal stroke (which in the
older form constituted the end of the letter) into a diagonal
fine, or, as — for example — in k, ’, v (7, 8, 9), by entirely
omitting it.
On the other hand, the Writing in Column II. is clearly a
reversal f of the Writing in Column I., which doubtless ran
from left to right, like the Sinhalese. Only the signs for n (16)
and p (18) offer any difficulty. The former appears in Column
II. not as the reversal, but only as a slight variation of the
(equivalent) sign in Column I. ; and in the case of p (18) — if
the modem form of the letter did not contradict it — one
might easily believe in a simple interchange of the forms in
Columns I. and II.
We have now, on the whole, got a complete history of the
development of the Maldivian Writing, as (far as) shown in
Columns I., II., and IV.
* To prevent contusion, it should be noted again that Geiger has
transposed, and otherwise altered, Columns I. and II., as they actually
appear in the “ London Vocabulary.” They are shown in their true
order in Plate V. 1. Therefore, when Geiger speaks of Column I., the
second column in the “ London Vocabulary” must be understood, and,
vice versd, Column II. for the first column. — B., Ed.
t To bring out this “ reversal ” of the writing clearly, the Editor has
added ( Plate V. 2 ) a third column to those reproduced from the “ London
Vocabulary,” by printing through the back of the negative in the case
of the second column. — B., Ed.
Extra No.— 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies. 25
Yet I cannot believe that the Alphabet in Column I. is
the divehi akurtt : the latter must, I think, be much further
removed from the Modern Writing. Gray, however, has
pointed out, correctly, that the modern signs for the nine
letters h, r, n, r, b, l, k, a, v are nothing but the
Arabic Numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
I should like to call attention to the statement in the
Memoir quoted above, in which it is asserted as a character¬
istic phenomenon of the Ancient Maldivian Alphabet, that
the separate letters appear in a different form, according to
the vowel to which they are joined.* This points towards a
Writing which is very closely related to the Asoka Alphabet.
It seems to me that both the Alphabets in Columns I. and II.
are only archaic variations of the Modern Alphabet, but are
widely different from the divehi akuru.]'
I shall not lay too much stress on the left to right direction
of the Writing in Column I. The Writing from right to left
was certainly first introduced in Muhammadan times. It may
indeed have been prevalent for a longer time, with fluctuations
in its use. The Sinhalese Writing was always from the left,
and yet inscriptions are occasionally found in Ceylon which
have to be read in the reverse direction. {
* See Appendix C.
t The Alphabets exhibited in Columns I. and II. of Geiger’s Table
[Plate I.] may quite possibly — indeed not improbably — be, as the
Professor surmises, “ archaic variations of the Modern Alphabet”
(gabtjli tAna) once in use on the Maldives.
So far, however, no writings in either form have come to light.
On the other hand, the true divehi akuetj, or dives akuru, the
Ancient Maldivian Alphabet, is occasionally employed on the Southern
Atolls to this day. The Editor obtained two copies of the full syllabary
(one from Mai 6, central ; the other from Fua Mulaku, almost at the
Southern limit of the group) some years ago. See Appendix C. — B. , Ed
X Exceptio probat regulam. The comparatively few lithic Inscriptions
found in Ceylon which read from right to left, styled pratildma , occur
only at caves, and are probably due to “ masons’ freaks.” Cave records
show occasionally further deviations from the normal, in the letters
being cut upside down, and sideways : these aberrations are known as
perali-basa.
26
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Maldivian Orthography.
I should like to draw attention here to a few peculiarities
of Maldivian orthography, which must be kept in sight all the
more, as a fixed system apparently does not exist, and in the
writing of single words variations are observed.
We deal, first of all, with the use of the two signs
(transliterated in the Table as) r (2) * and ' (8).
(i.) The first sign, r, expresses a sound peculiar to the
Maldivians, to which the (cerebral) t in Sinhalese is most closely
allied. The sound is very difficult to describe and to imitate.
It varies between r, h, and s ; is rather soft ; and is, so far
as I could observe, uttered by putting the tip of the tongue in
the highest part of the palate, and letting the breath escape
sideways between the teeth.
(ii.) As a sound value for the Maldivian sign (transcribed
here as) ’ (8), Gray (following Christopher) gives a, because
it is called by the Maldivians avieni ; just as the other letters
of the Alphabet (from the first letter onwards) are called
HAVIENI, RAVIENI, NAVIENI, RAVIENI, BAVIENI, &C.|
But that is quite wrong. The sign corresponds (a) more
completely with the Arabic aleph and hamza.
It also acts (fc) as a support for a vowel at the beginning
of a word, as well as nritJiin a word when a vowel precedes.
In this case it is, of course, not taken into account at all in
the transcription of words. The Maldivians write ddun,
“ stove ” ; f°i, “ book ” ; we write simply udun, foi. J
* Written eh by Christopher and Gray.
f The sign for L has the name lAmu.
$ Geiger, in trying to represent the words, pronounced udun and foi,
as they are written by Maldivians, uses forms in which the vowel signs
for u and o ar e added above, and that for i below. These entirely ignore
the avieni base-sign (the evolution of the Arabic numeral a = “ 8 ”);
and, further, make thelfepresentations read wrongly from left to right.
A far closer (though equally ugly) approximation to the Maidive
forms would be nudua, (i?)°F, the sign a (inverted v) being used to
represent the “ semi -consonant ” avieni, and (t) with sukun above,
within parentheses, the consonant, in English transcribed t, but pro¬
nounced by Maldivians as a soft i. — B., Ed.
Extra No. — 1 919. J Maldivian linguistic studies. 27
But the sign has also (c) another significance. Consonants
like T, t, r, n, k often disappear at the end (of words),
and in their stead (the Maldivian avieni sign here represented
by) * appears in the writing. The sign is intended, I, believe,
to denote a closing of the top of the wind-pipe.
This may be brought into agreement with what Christopher
says of (the letter sign) avieni, that, with the “ sokun ” (be.,
without vowel), it sounds like G.* In what Gunasekara wrote
I also find G in such a place.
I always write (this avieni sign as) and am certain that
this (mode) is correct.
My transliteration is, therefore, ra’,“ land ” (S. rata ; P. rattha)
— Christopher, rag (L.V., ra’, p. Ill) ; fua’, “ betel ” = Chris¬
topher, FUVAG ; 6’, “ camel ” (S. otu ; P. ottha) — Christopher,
og ; o’, “ stone (or kernel) of a fruit ” = Christopher, oe ; ko\
■■ having power ” = Christopher, kog, Gunasekara, kog ; fote’,
“ a book ” = S. potak; e’, “ elephant ” (S. $t) = Christopher, eg.
The sign serves ( d ) yet another purpose : it indicates the
doubling of a consonant. Thus : ku’ta’, “ dog,” is written for
kutta ; ka’tiri, “ warrior,” for kattiri ; rasraskalu’nai,
“ to the king,” for rasraskalunnai ; ra’je-gai, “ in the
kingdom,” for RAJJE-GAi.f
In both these cases, too, the sign (i.), which is expressed
by r, may appear (in lieu of the avieni sign). In double
* His original manuscript shows that Christopher himself wrote
words like the Maidive moxi(r), “all,” kaetiwa(r), “musket,” as
muxi and kaetiwA, paying no attention to the final r, it being silent.
Further, he wrote the Maidive ra(a), e( a), o( a), and the like, as rag,
eg, og (the g being silent at the end of words); and nefa(t), “nose,”
fo(t), “book,” as nefai, foi (the t at end having sound of soft i).
It was his editor. Dr. J. Wilson, who first printed these (and similarly-
terminated) words as muli’, kAetiwA ; RAG, EG, OG; and nefai,
foi. — B., Ed.
f The sign, “called by the Maldivians avieni,” is most nearly
represented by the Arabic numeral a (“ 8 ”) — an inverted v.
Being a base-letter sign, Gray rightly styles it a “consonant,” or
“ semi-consonant.” “ The initial vowels are formed by the quasi-
consonant a” (be., the Maidive adaptation of Arabic a) “with the
appropriate vowel sign ; and the second of two vowels following a
28
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
consonants, in fact, it is used in the L.V. : for example, kujja,
“ child ” (p. 10) ; rajjehi, “ in the kingdom ” (p. 112) ; sikka,
“ seal ” (p. 71), are written kurjI, rarjehi, sirka.
It must be understood that we cannot speak at all here of
the sound-value of r. But the fact that the sign for R has
been confused with the sign ’ (adopted here for ayieni) can be
explained in two ways.
In speaking, as we have already mentioned, R is mute, or
nearly so : it is formed by closing the top of the wind-pipe.
Also it can now be assumed that in many cases the old writing
was preserved as historic ; so that one used or,“ stone of a fruit,”
in ivriting, but spoke it as o’. This might lead to considering
r as an equivalent sign for ’ (avieni) , and using it as equivalent.
Historical writing is found in the same way, with (final) t
originally pronounced. The L.V. has et, “elephant”; fat,
“ leaf ” ; dat, “ tooth.” I myself only heard (these words
pronounced) e’, fai’, dai’ ; and Christopher also writes in this
way, adopting the modem pronunciation.
In point of fact the sign for R — -considering its resemblance
in form to the sign for n — in utterance apparently represents
a nasal sound; and in this case would be written n.* This
consonant is expressed in the same Way; thus : gai is Written G with
the vowel sign ‘a’( ' above), followed by the quasi-consonant a with
the vowel sign ‘i’ (, below).”
In the Modern Maldivian Alphabet (gabuxi tana) — as contrasted with
the Old Alphabet (dives akubu) and the Sinhalese Alphabet — “there
is no inherent vowel : accordingly every consonant has either a vowel
sign or the sokun (° above = Sinhalese f> al sign) ..in the latter case, if
the consonant (be one that) cannot take the sokun, it is changed to
one (of the six, viz., A, n, n, r, s, t) which can.”
For transliteration (as distinct from pronunciation) it might be well
to adopt in every case the particular snfcnn-marked letter employed,
placing it within parentheses, either at the end of a word as mute, or in
the middle, when used to double ■ the preceding consonant. This would
avoid the indistinctly-marked sign ’, so liable to pass unnoticed.
In his footnotes the present Editor has followed this plan. — B., Ed.
* Christopher uses r in transcribing some words (c.g., dernang,
KarnAdi), where the R clearly has the nasal sound of the consonant
following. He does not seem ever to write it as the final letter having
the sound of n. — B., Ed.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies. 29
nasal sound is found occasionally, instead of the complete
vanishing of the consonant, perhaps instead of the closing
of the top of the throat; and was clearly heard by me. Of.
Notes to III. 1; 3. It represents a transitional stage, the
retention of which was apparently rendered possible by the
rhythm of the sentence.
Even N, when final, shows a tendency to be pronounced as
a velar, and can then be expressed by that symbol ; and here
again the closing of the top of the throat is a further stage of
development.
The forms mihun, mihun, mihu’, and miilu, “human
being,” are found, with no distinction between them.
Maldivian Alphabet Signs.
In conclusion, two more remarks.
Originally the Maldivian Alphabet is said to have possessed
only the (eighteen consonant) signs (numbered) 1 to 18 (see
Table). For the signs (in the same Table, running from) 19
to 27 Christopher gives no older forms ; and the signs 25 to
27 — sounds which generally occur only in foreign words — are
also wanting from the Alphabets found in the L.V.
As regards the signs 19 to 24, and the sounds which they
are said to express, that for z occurs only in borrowed words ;
whilst N and t are very rare, the latter being regularly
represented by r. On the other hand, y, c, j are found in
real Maldivian words; although the last two, as in Sinhalese,
may be more recent developments.
The strongest argument against the connection of the
Modern Alphabet— and consequently the two Older Alphabets
given (Columns I., II., Table) in L.V. — with the Ancient
Sinhalese, is the form of uniting the vowels.
This has been borrowed directly from the Arabic writing.
The vowel signs for a, i, u are identical with the Arabic fatha,
kasra, and damma ; their long equivalents being shown by
doubling the simple signs : for e, Is, o, 6 the vowel symbols are
new formations from the borrowed material, easily explicable.
30
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
III.— AIDS TO KNOWLEDGE OF THE MALDIVIAN
LANGUAGE.
1. — Sentences in Maldivian, with literal line-for-line
English version.
1. I asked (you) something: (you) answer give
MA EHI ECCEKE : SUV ABU BEST
must.
vAn£.
2. I need a book ; the book to me give.
MARA BENUME FOTE’ ; EOI MARA BADI (or Dl).
3. To that boy’s father I it gave.
E SORU-GE BAFAYAN TIMAN ETI DINIM.
4. I gave the book to your brother.
MA DENI FOI KALE BEBE ATA’.
5. On this tree the branches long (are).
mi gahu-ga’ ofi dige.
6. In our garden are fifty-four
AHARAMEN-GE GOTI-GA’ HURI FANSAS HATARU
coconut palms.
RUKE.
7. We three persons (are).
AIIARAMEN TIM-MIHU’.
8. How many children are to you ?
KITA KUDIN EBA-TIBUHE KALE-GE ?
I have (Of me are) five children.
MA-GE TIBI FAS KUDIN.
9. (Is) this a poisonous snake ?
MI VIHA-HARUFAYET-TA ?
This snake a poisonous one (snake) is.
MI HARUFAYI VIHA-HARUFAYEKE.
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
31
10. Honey very sweet thing (is).
mAmui vara’ foni ecceke.
11. Of this fruit the taste sweet (is).
Ml MEVA RAHA FONYE.
12. My daughter younger (is)
MA-GE Al^HEN-DARI-FULU HAGE
my son than.
FlRlHEIs -DARI-FULA* VURE1&.
13.
This
tree
very
large
tree (is).
MI
GAHI
vara’
BODU
gahe’.
14.
This
tree
higher
that
tree than (is).
MI
GAS
UHE
E
GAHA’ VUREN.
15.
My
house- smaller your house than (is),
MA-GE
g£
KUDAYE KALE-GE GEYA’ VURE^T.
16.
The coconut shell
very
hard (is).
NARI
VARAN
HARE.
17.
Yesterday
very
the wind strong (was) ;
IYA
vara’
VAE GADE ;
clouds covered the sky.
VILA FORUVAIPPE UDU.
18.* The elephant stronger the horse than (is).
e’ gadafadaye aha’ vuren.
19. The sun rises; the sun rose;
mu arani ; iru aradane ;
the sun will rise.
IRU ARANE.
20.
The sun sets ; tne sun set ;
iru ossijje ; IRU OSSIDAN^! ;
the sun will set.
IRU oss6n6.
32 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
21. That servant to me brought a letter yesterday
E n6kiRU MARA GENAl SITIYE’ IYA
evening.
HAV1RU.
22.
From the town a messenger
RARUN BALAmIHAKU
a merchant by
VIYAfArI-VERIYAKU FURUN
came : he (that man)
Ai : E mihA
was (the man) sent.
FONUYENI MIHEKA.
23. I wrote a letter to you here
MA LIYUNIME SITIYE’ KAUE MI-TANAN
to come.
annAft.
24. Whence (do) you come ?
KONTAKUNHE TIYA ANNANI ?
25. All (men) die must.
ENMEN VES MARUVAN V.4NE.
26. Do not strike that dog :
NU-TALAHARE E BALU-GA' :
it will bite you.
eti dAe-geAfAne kale-Gae-ga’.
27.
Sleep well !
gada nidi!
This child
mi kujjA
Are you well ?
KALE GADA-TA ?
weeps why ?
RONI KI-VEGEN ?
28.
That fruit falls from the tree
E MEVA VETUNI GAHUN
on to the ground.
BIMARE.
29. Of the tree the leaves green (are). Green leaves.
GAS-GAHU-GE FAI FESE. FEHI FAI.
30. This dress white (is). This sand yellow (is).
MI IIEDUlsr HUDU. MI VELI RINDU.
Blood red (is). The sky blue (is).
DE RAI. UDU NULE.
Extea No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
33
Notes to III. 1.
1. ecceke. The word ecce, or, more correctly, ecce’,
means “thing,” “affair,” “fact.” Cf. eccejst (for ecce’)
nu-kati, “ he eats nothing,” L.V., p. 32, translation of Persian
parhiz, “abstinence”; Sheik Ali, koist-ecce’, “what?”
literally, “ what sort of thing ? ”
2. benume. Cf. Christopher, benan, “ to want,” “ to
desire.” * The -me seems to be an Emphatic Particle, cor¬
responding to the Sinhalese -ma.
3. soeu-ge bafayan, or soru -bafayan. According to
Ibrahim Didi, bafa and baba are used for “ father ” ; the
former belongs to lower class, the latter to higher class, speech.
bafaya^ is, I think, the Dative.
The isr (as I heard it) here expresses the sound of a
disappearing consonant, which in this case was r. Cf. Sinha¬
lese -ta. The nasal sound appears to be due to the sandhi of
the context. In most cases there is a complete disappearance,
or rather a Closing of the top of the throat; thus, ata’ (4),
fula’ (12), gaha’ (14), geya’ (15), aha’ (18), is in every case
the correct way of writing ; not geya, fula, &c. timan is
the Reflective Pronoun ; eti a Demonstrative Pronoun.
4. Literally, “ I gave the book to your brother’s hand.”
According to Ibrahim Didi, ma dini, “ I give ” ; ma deni,
or ma dini, “ I gave.”
5. -GA’or-GAi. Suffix, which indicates place. Cf. mi earu-
gai, “ in this town ” ; raru-gai hunna miha (L.V., p. 110),
“the in-the-town-dwelling man,” “townsman.” To -ga’
belongs, as dative, -gatan, -gata’, “towards” = S. langa-ta
(III. 3; B 1). The -e at the end of the sentence appears
to correspond to the S. -ya. Cf. III. 1 : 6, 9, 12, 13, &c.
6. huei. “Exists,” “is,” “there is” = Christopher,
hurl Cf. III. 2 : 4, 7, &c.
* Christopher writes benang, I throughout replace his no by
F 17-18
34 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
7. tim-mihu’. Assimilation for tin-mihu’. Such assi¬
milations are frequent everywhere in Maldivian. Cf., for
example, harufayet-ta in 9 ( = harufayek-ta) ; ebbai,
in III. 3 : A 3 (for ek-bai), &c.
8. eba-. Particle, I was informed, of the Present Tense.
9. -ta. Interrogative Particle. The termination -i, in
mi harufayi, is used emphatically. Cf. also mi gahI, III.
1 : 13 ; but mi gas, III. 1 : 14.
12. hagu. “Young,” speaking of length of fife. In a
general sense la is used for “ young,” “ fresh,” “ new ” = S.
le. dari-fulu means “ son ” or “ daughter ” ; fulu is a so-
called honorific. When required, firihen, “ male,” and
an heist, “female,” can be prefixed. For the use of vuretst. cf.
the following sentences, III. 1 : 14, 15, 18.
20. The Tenses were told to me most exactly in the series
quoted ; but it still appears to me doubtful whether aradane
and ossidane are Preterites. Cf. also III. 2 : 20, the synonym
iru tirividane, as Future, “the sun will set”; tiri means
“ down,” “ low.”
21. genai. Literally, “having taken came he ” = S. gena-
vaya. Cf. Maldivian ai = S. avdya, in III. 1 : 22. iya hen-
dun, “ yesterday morning.”
22. viyafari. “ Gain ” (L.V., p. 73). In the sense of
“owner,” “master” (L.V., pp. 75, 115), -veri, or -verin,
often occurs at the end of a compound word. Christopher,
mas-verhst, “ fisherman ” ; atolu-veri (L.V.., p. 109), “ master
of an Atoll ” ; Christopher, dadu-veri, “ countryman.”
23. mi-tana^t. Dative, “ to this place,” “ here ” = S.
metana-ta.
24. tiya, or kale-tiya. The latter is the more respect¬
ful Pronoun of the Second Person.
25. ves. According to Christopher = “ also ” : vane
appears to be equivalent to the S. ovA.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
35
26. eti. Used of animals and things ; IsnA of persons,
Pronoun, Third Person. -gAe signifies “ person.” Gf. sestga-
gAtak, “the lion,” III. 3: C 4; hiyal-gAtu-ga’, “to the
donkey,” III. 3: C 5.
27. kale gada-ta. According to Ibrahim Didi, gada
VEVULEI.
28. Ibrahim Didi gives m£va veteni, “ the fruit fell ” ; ma
vetuj^, “ I fell.”
2. — Sentences in Sinhalese and Maldivian, with
literal line-for-line English version.
1. Your mother, where (is she) ?
Urhbe amma, ko?
UMBA AMA, KOBAhE?
My mother and father in the house tare).
Mage ammat tdttat gedaraya.
mage amA-yA bafa-yA GEDARA-GAI.
2. Our sister in the kitchen being,
Api sahodari kussiyi indag ena,
AHARAME^-GE KOKKA BADGE-GAI HURINGE’
rice cooks.
bat uyayi.
BAI KAKKANI.
3. On the Maldives what
M&ladivayini mona
divehi-rAjje-gai kon
are cultivated ?
vevi-da ?
HEDENI ?
4. In our island
Api divayini
aharamen-ge raru-gai
kinds of fruits
gedi varga
KAHALA FAF-FALO-TAN
many coconut palms
bohoma polgas
bAvar divehi-rut-tan
are.
tibet.
HURl.
36
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
6.
7.
9.
fifty, the price how great (is it) ?
panahaka , mi la kopamana-da ?
KARI-GE, AGA KIHAVARU ?
of coconut-palm wood our houses
pol-li-valin
divehi-ruka:n
8.
Of nuts
Gedi
FANSAS
We
A pi
AHARAMEN
build.
sddamuva.
alameve.
On those islands rats very
E divayinvala miyo ita
E RATTAKU-GAI MIDA-TAN VARA:
They (rats) to the coconut palms
Ovhu pol-ya.s-vala~ta
e mida-ta’ rut-ta’
harmful are.
antaraya karati.
HALAK-KURA TAKACCA EVE.
Of this country (the) climate
Me desa gunaya
MI RAJJE-GE GOI
is not ; to us
neta ; apa veta-ta
NT^N^ ; AH AR AMEN GATAN
ap6 gd
GE-TAN
numerous are.
bohdya.
GINA-KO’ HURT.
healthy
sanipa
FASEHAKAMU-GE
corning
ena
ANNA
strangers
parcidesikayo
FORUDDEHI MIS-MIHUN
suffer.
peleti.
ADATA-A7E.
Yesterday my brother
lyi mage sahodarayd
IYA MARA BEBE
to the jungle I went.
keleta mama giyemi.
VALAN DIYAME.
from dysentery
pdcana-rogayen
BERUHIGA -BALI YIN
very much
boho-se
gina-ko’
together with
samaga
EKU
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
37
10.
You
there
did what ?
' Urhba
ehedi
kale mokada 'r
KALE MEN
ETA-GAI
KINHE KOLEPIM ?
11.
We
firewood gathered :
Api
dara
ekatu-kelemuva :
AHARAMEN
DARU
EKU-KOFEIM :
we
it to
our house brought ;
api
eya
ape gz-ta gendvemuva ;
TIMANMEN
EYITI
TIMANMEN-GE GEYA’ GENIGOSEIM ;
we
fire
kindled ; (and)
api
gini
pattu-kelemuva ;
AHARAMEN
ALIFANU
RO-KOFPLM ;
our
food
we cooked.
ape
kema api ivvemuva.
AHARAMEN-GE BAI
KAKKAFIM.
12.
You
to-morrow what will (you) do ?
Urhba
heta
karanne mokada ?
KALEMENT
mAdam
KOIST-ECOE HADAN ULUVANI ?
13. We to the shore going
Api mudu-varalata gos
AHARAMEN GONDUDORA’ GOS
for fishing in the boat
masun allan-ta oruvakin
KEVILUKAMAD DAHARE d6nIYAKA’
will embark.
yannemu.
arAnume.
14.
My
Mage
MA-GE
father
piya
BAPpA
since he died
meri
NIYA-VEGEI<f
now onel year
den avuruddak
MIhArU EN AHARU
(it) was.
viya.
VEJJEVE.
38
15.
16.
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
My
mother still
in life
is;
Mage
mdniyt 5 tava-ma jivatva
siti ;
MA-GB
mammA adivei
furAna-eka ULAN i ;
but
she very
old
become,
ehet
d bohoma
ndkiyi,
EKAMAKU 6nA VARA’
MUSKULI
vefaye’,
very weak become,
durbalayi.
is.
vara’
DERA VERA YE’,
ULANI.
This
woman four children
has borne;
Md
ambuva daru hatara denek
vada-siti ;
MI
AMBI HATARU
DARI
VIHAYEPPEVE ;
of my
friends,
one, her
magi mitrayek,
d-ge
MA-GE RAHUMAITTERIN KUREN,
EKAKU, £nA-GE
youngest daughter,
bdlama duva,
HAGU ANHEN-DARIYA’,
has married.
karaber^da-germ-siti.
INI.
17. This man blind (is).
Md minihd kanayi.
MI MI HA KANU.
18. Of this man the wife deaf (is); to her
Me minihd-gd ambuva bihiriyi ; e-ta
mi mthA-gk ambi biru; enAya
our words heard are not.
apd vacana esennd nd.
AHARAMEN-GE BAS-TAN NU-IVE1TE.
19. I this night well have slept.
Mama md rd honda-ta nida-qatimi,
MA MI RE RANGALA NIDAIFIME.
I very early have risen.
Mama itd udayen negittemi.
ma vara’ hendunu tedu-vejjime.
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
39
20. Hast© make! (Make haste!)
Ikman Jcarapan!
avaha’ hada !
The sun in a short time will set.
Ira ikmana-ta basinneya.
iru avaha’ tirividan^.
21.
To us
the road invisible somewhat (is) ;
Apa-ta
maga
no-penena tarama-ta ;
aharamenna’ magu
NU-BELENE ;
very
dark
it will become.
bohoma
andhakara
vevi.
VAR aka’
ADIRI BODU
VIDANE.
22.
To us
moonlight will it fall ?
Apa-ta
handa-
pana lebe-da ?
AHARAMENNA’ HANDU-VARU DE1NEBA ?
23.
I
do not know.
I so think.
Mama no-danimi.
mara nIsngb.
Mama ese
MARA EHET<f
sitimi.
HIVANI.
I in my mind accept (the idea).
Mama kalpand karami.
MA HITU-GAI GANNANI.
24. In the jungle many snakes are found ;
Kele boko sarpayo inditi ;
VALU-GAI LAKKA HARUFA-TAIVI HUNNATI ;
a snake
us if it bite,
we
die
sarpayek
apa dastakalot,
apa
nasin-ta
iiarufa
DA-GATIYA,
AHAREN
MARUVAN
must.
ondya.
VANE!.
25. Fear not !
Bayaven-ta epa !
BIBU NU-GANk !
40
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
26.
I
the letter to you will send ;
Mama
liyuma
umba-ta evannemi ;
timannA
E SITI
kaleya’ fonuvAname ;
you
writing
(and) reading
understand ?
umba-ta
liyan-ta
kiyavan-ta
puluvan-da ?
KALE
liyAka
kiyavAka
dannum-he ?
27. In last year the monsoon (it) broke
Giya avurudde ritu-sulan bahin-ta patangatte
DIYA AHABTJ MOSAMU-vAl JEHUNI
when ?
kavadada ?
KON-IRU ?
28. From your country to Ceylon you
Uifibe divayine sita Lankdva-ta
KALE-GE RABUN OLUDUKARAya’ KAlJl
having sailed how many days (were spent) ?
neven ima-ta kopamana kal gatavi-da ?
ODI-GOS-LEEI KIHA DUVAHUN ?
29. Of the king the house
Aga nuvara
RASKAMU-GE GE
30. Of the there dwelling
Ehi kopamana
ETA-GAI HUNNA
(is) how large ?
KIHAVARU ?
in what town (is it) '?
koka-da ?
KON RAREN-HE ?
inhabitants the number
janayd vdsaya-karad-da ?
RAYYATU^T-GE ADADA
Notes to III. 2.
1. imba— S. umba. Also used kala-ge, or kalegeeanu-
ge, according as the person spoken to is of higher or lower
rank, mamma, “ mother,” is more respectful than ama. The
form -ya occurs after. vowels ; -A, -Ai after consonants. Cf.
III. 3: A 1; III. 3 : B 1.
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
41
2. kokka. “ Brother ” or “ sister ” ; may be more clearly
indicated by firihen and anhen. See III. 1 : 12, Note.
huringe’ = S. indag ena.
3. heden. Passive of hadan, “ to make ” ; in Sinhalese
also, according to Gunasekara, he.de, in the sense of “ it is
produced,” “ it grows,” is used. The sign of the plural is
represented by -tan or -ta, perhaps more correctly -ta\
7. ko\ Guna'sekara writes kog. Cf. p. 27. It serves
here, like the S. kota, to form Adverbs. So in the following
sentences.
8. faseha. In L.V., p. 139 = Persian dram, “rest,”
“peace.” According to Sheik Ali, fasehakam means
“health.”
10. eta-gai. “ Within.” Cf. eti, III. 1 : 26, and eta-gai,
III. 2: 30.
11. I recorded eku-koffim, ro-koffim, &c. koffim =
ko’fim, in Maldivian writing.
The forms are constructed in the same way as ge^gos-fim,
“ we brought ” ; kakka-fim, “ we cooked ” ; hifai-fimu, “ we
caught.” The Auxiliary Verb included in -fim I compare
with the S. piyanu. ' As regards this use, see Geiger, Litteratur
und Sprache der Singhalesen, p. 83.
12. ( uluvani. Plural ; the Singular would be ulani. See
III. 2 : 15.
13. d6niyaka. doni, according to Ibrahim Didi, is
employed on many islands instead of oru ; gondudora’ =
gondudo’, Geiger ; godudan, L.V., p. 7.
14. vejjeve. Gunasekara states that in colloquial Sinha¬
lese vecca or vejja is frequently used in the sense of “was,”
“ became.” niyI-vegen : the meaning is not clear to me.
miharu, mihar (mihairu), “ present (time).”
16. vthayeppeve. Gunasekara has vehayeppeve. I find
vthAn, L.V., p. 186 = Persian zddan : kuren = S. keren,
“ out,” “ of,” “ under.”
g
17-18
42
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
18. enaya’, &c. Passive construction, which at times is
preferred in Maldivian : “ to her our words are not heard.”
Christopher, iveist, “ to hear,” “ to mind.”
22. deineba, or denehe. Future, with an Interrogative
Particle : “ will be given ? ” See III. 2 : 24 and 29.
23. nenge. Christopher, engedan, to leari|,” “ acquire ”
= S. hengenu.
24. da-gatiya. Conditional ; cf. viya, III. 3: B5.
26. dannumhe. See Note 22 above, he is an Inter¬
rogative Particle.
27. diya, hingi, febi. Synonyms, meaning “ past.”
aharu (older form, avaradu) = S. avurudu. m6samu-vai,
cf. Arabic mausim.
3. — Stories * in Sinhalese and Maldivian, with literal
line-for-line English version.
A. — The Horse and the Donkey.
1. A horse and a donkey
Asvayek saha buruvek
AHAK-AI HIMARAK-AI
together on the road
eka maga
em-maguA
were going.
giyoya.
ekkulavaye’ hingi-eve.
* The Professor does not say where, when, or how he acquired these
three “ Stories,” the originals of which he admits (infra. Section II.)
are in “ English.”
The following explanation is possible : —
The tales occur (with several other like fables) in a small book entitled
Pleasant Stories, formerly in the possession of the present Editor.
When attached to His Majesty’s Customs at Colombo in the Eighties,
and able to give some little attention to the Maidive language, he got,
by vivd voce questioning, from chance Maldivians visiting the Port,
rough summarized translations of some of these “ Stories.”
Subsequently his good friend, I. Ah mold Did!, elder son of A.
Ibrahim Didi (who was returning to Male, on the completion of a sound
English education at the Richmond College, Galle), kindly undertook
Extea No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
43
2.
That donkey’s
Buruva-ge
E HIMAEU
because there was,
tibuna-nisd,
HUBI-NI,
back
upon
great
load
pita
xtda
loku
barak
BUK1KARI MACCA LAKKA
BAKU
he
very
weary beca
me.
uta
bohoma
vehesa viya.
1
vara’
BALI VEJJEVE.
3.
The donkey, the horse
E-tema
HIMAEU AHU-GAta’
begged, from
AHEPPEVE
something do thou take away ; I
kotasak ara-ganin ; mama
EBBAI KALE NAGAHARE ; MA
my load
mage barin
MA-GE BAKUN
to thee
umba-ta
KALEJ-GE
blessing wishing shall be.
stutivantava sitinnemi-yi kiya.
HEUKAN GOYA VEEIYAKA VANAME.
4. But
the horse,
this
word
not hearing,
Ehet
asvaya,
i-ta
kan-no-di,
EKAMAKU
AS,
MI
BAS
nAha,
went on.
giyeya.
HINGI-EVE.
to translate the book fully into Maldivian for his benefit. This was
in 1890 (Letter, June 16: “I shall try my best to translate the Stories
as soon as possible, with the greatest pleasure ”) ; but, owing to Ahmad
Didi’s repeated serious illnesses at Mai 6 from Maidive “ gift fever,” as
it is called, no progress could be made.
Five years later, Ahmad Didi wrote (Letter, December 7, 1895) :
“ The book of Pleasant Stories sent to me for translation into the
Maldivian language will be sent to you now very soon, with its
translation.”
Doubtless the book came back to Ceylon shortly afterwards ; but it
never reached the Editor.
If, mayhap. It fortunately fell into the hands of Professor Geiger
(who was in Ceylon from December 8, 1895, to Mejrch 15, 1896), and is
the source from which he drew the three “ Stories” he gives, every
satisfaction must be felt that Ahmad Didi’s generous, though belated
and unintentionally deflected, aid has borne such valuable fruit by
appearing in the present publication. — B., Ed.
44
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XXVII.
5. A short time afterwards the donkey
Madu veldvaka-ta pasu buruva
KUDA IRU-KOLU FAHUN HIMARU
to the earth falling, died.
Lima veti, mUleya.
BIM MACCE VETTIGEN, MARUVEJJEVE.
I
6. The donkey’s master the horse’s back upon
Buruva himiyd , ahu pita
HIMARU VERI-MIHA AHU MACCA
the whole load laid.
mulu bara petevveya.
HUR1HA BARU-TA’ LAJPPEVE.
7. Towards the in-misfortune
Vipattiya -ta
TADUKAMU-GAI-YAI
and-sorrow-being people,
saJia duka-ta peminiyan-ta,
DATI-GAI-YAI ULE MIS-MIHUN MACCA,
merciful be !
karund-karapan !
KULUVERIYAKA HURE !
Notes to III. 3: A.
2. huri-ni Termination -ni = S. -niyd. macca = S.
matu, matte
3. nagahare. Imperative : nagajsi, “ hft up,” “ take.”
5. kuda ; kolu. Both = “ small.” The former could be
dispensed with.
6. baru-ta’. Gunasekara, again, has baru-tag. Cf. p. 27.
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
45
B. — The Wise Judge.
1. Two women, a child on account of,
Strivaru de-denek, daruvek gena,
DE ANHENUN,, EMMB KUJJAYAT -TAKAI,
the one with the other quarrelling,
eki aniki-ta dos pavaramin,
EKAKU MACCA ANEKAKU KUN ARUVAIGEN,
a Judge to came.
viniscaya-kdrayek langa -ta avahuya.
EMME NIYAYAVERI GATAN ATUVEJJEVE.
2.
The two women said, from me
Ohu de-dena-ma kivoya, mama
E DE AtStHENUli BUNI BAHAKI, TIMANNA
that child
daruva
E KUJJE
is born, that child
veduvemi, daruva
VIHAmMEVE, E KUJJA
to me belongs.
mageya-yi.
TIM AN NAG A ’ EVE.
3. The Judge the executioner calling,
Viniscaya-ka/raya vadakaruvd-ta andagasd,
NIYAVERI MINI-MARA -MIHA GOVAGEN,
the child in two parts cutting it,
daruva deka-ta kapd eya,
E kujjaya’ deealiyaka’ ealagen EYITI,
to the two women give, he directed.
strin-ta deva-yi, ana-kaleya.
I E DE ANHENUNNA’ DEHERE, BUNI.
4. This word hearing,
M e vacanaya asd,
MI BAS EHI,
silent remained.
nissabdava sitiydya.
ANGAYIN NUBUNE HURI.
of the two women, one
e str in-gen, ekiyak
AETHENUl?! KUREN, EKAKU
46
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
5. The other woman to weep beginning, my
Anik stri andan-ta patan-gena, mage
ANENI AMBI ROtf-FARAIGE^ BUNI, MA-GE
child do not kill !
daruvd no-mar ava-yi !
DARI NU-MARARE !
said : This
kivdya ; Me
Mil
Your (Honour’s)
obavahanse-ge
KALJ2-GE
decision if it be, by me
viniscaya-nam, mama
NIYAKA1SI VIYA, TIMANNAYA’
the child is not taken.
daruvd no-ganimi.
DARI NU-LIBENE.
6. The Judge
V iniscaya-karaya
NIYAVERI-MJHA
that woman
i
E KABULEGE
the child’s mother
mava
DARI-GE AMA
to be recognising, the child
bava dena, daruvd
KAN KARAVARA DENIGEN, DARI
giving, the other woman to prison
di, anik hirage-ta
difaya’, anek-kabulege jela’
Notes to III. 3 : B.
1. Suffix -takai', -taka. “ With reference to ” : niyaya-
VERI, or NIYA-VERI.
3. defaliyaka’. Cf. with S. depalu-karanu, and falagen
with S. palanu.
5. Gunasekara writes faraigen and marare ; as also, in
III. 3 : A 3, nagahare, and in III. 3: B 3, dehere, not
DEHERE.
6. kabulege. The more respectful expression for
“ woman ” : abi-kabulege (for ambi-kabulege), “ spouse ”
(Feminine); firi-kalege, “spouse” (Masculine), L.V., p. 13.
kan — S. hi yd : karavara = S. niscaya-kota.
to her
6~ta
e kabulegeya’
he sent.
ye.we.ya.
FONOVAFIYEVE.
Extea No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
47
C. — The Lion, the Ass, and the Jackal.
1. A jackal and a lion and an ass hunting
Hivalek-ut sinhayek-ut kotaluvek-ut dadayam karan-ta
HIYALAK-A VAGAK-A* HIMAEAK-A SIKARXT KURAN
on account of, into the forest went.
ondva , vala-ta giydhuya.
VEGElfr, VALA’ VEDE.
2. Hunting having finished, the booty gained
Dadayam kota nimavu, vigaha lebunavu,
STKARTT KO’ AVADI VEGEN, L1BUNUHA
meat in a heap collecting, the ass
mas godaka-ta ek-kota, kotaluvd-ta
mas-ta funk aka’ ek-koffa, himara’
in three parts to divide, the lion
tun-bhdgayaka-ta bedan-ta, sinha-lema
tim-baya’ bahan, singa
commanded.
ana-kaleya.
AMEU-KOFFIYAVE .
3. The ass the whole thing collecting, three parts
Kotaluva, e siyalu de ek-kota, tun-bhdgayak
HIMARU E HURIH.1 TAKATI EK-KO’, TIM-BAI
making, to each one (the) desired share
kota, e e ay a kemati bhagaya
KOFFA, EBEKALAKU HITAVA BAYE’
to take he told.
ganna-lesa kiveya.
NAG AN BUNEPPE.
* singA, S. sii}ha, “ lion,” is used elsewhere in the Story correctly.
The word here given, vagak, really means “tiger” (Sans, vydgra):
meni-kA vagu, “ man (or flesh) eating tiger.” — B., Ed.
48
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
4. Thereupon the lion, greatly angered,
E sanda sinhayd, bohoma kopavi-gena,
E-HINDU SINGA-GATAK, VARA’ RULIYAS-GE^,
that donkey killed.
e kotaluvd mara-demmeya.
E HIMARA’ MARA-LEYIPPE.
5. Then the jackal to divide, he told.
Pasuva hivala-ta bedan-ta, kwh /a.
DEN HlYAL-GATU-GA’ BAHAN, BUNEPPE.
6. The jackal for himself a small part
Hivald tamd-ta svalpa kotasak
HIYALU TIMANNAYA’ KUPA ETIKOLEI
taking, the rest all the lion
ara-geyn, itaru siyalu deval sinhaydi-ta
NAGAEAYE’, ITURU HURinA TAKACCE SINGA
to take he told.
ganna-lesa kweya.
NAG AN BUNEPPE.
7. The lion thereupon, greatly pleased,
Sinhayd e- sanda, boho santoshayen,
SINGA E-HINDU, VARA’ UFAVEGEN,
the jackal asked : “ Thus to divide,
hivala-gen esuva : “ Me.se, bedima-ta,
HIYAL-KUREN EHI : 1 ' TIYAHEN BEHI,
the reason what is (it) ? ”
karunu kavareda ?”
KAMAKI KOBAPIE ? ”
Notes to III. 3: C.
3. ebekalaku. Cf. kal6, “person.” Originally it
signifies “ small,” and indicates the common people. (Bell,
The Maldive Islands, p. 63.)
4. singa-gatak. See Notes to III. 1 : 26.
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
49
IV.— MALDIVIAN LETTERS.* * * §
1. — Maldivian Malim’s Letter :f A.D. 1837.
(Christopher : Journal, R.A.S., 1841, VI., pp. 73, 74.)
In Galle being, of the Maldives to all people
GALI-GAI TIBI, DIVEIIIN-GE EMME KALUNNA’
of the Arab boats, J of the Captain greetings
ARABU GDI, MALIMI-KALEGEFANU 1 SALAM
at this time. At this town being boats,
MI EAHARA’. MI RARU-GAI HURT ODI FAHARI,2
the Arab boats, Finladu § boats, the tribute boats,
ARAB ODI, FINLADU ODI, VEDUN ODI,2
* In these Maldivian Letters the words printed in italic capitals
appear in the original in Arabic characters. — B., Ed.
| See Plate III. Geiger’s line-for-line transcript of the Maldivian
text follows Wilson’s adaptation of Christopher’s original manuscript,
with some alterations in the transliteration only.
Christopher wrote out the Maidive (gabuli tAjsta) characters as
they appear in Plate III., placing his English transcript below the
Maldivian text, under each word, from left to right, and interpolating a
word-for-word translation between the two lines.
By relegating the Maidive Letter to a separate Plate, Dr. Wilson,
his editor, was able to amend this obviously unsuitable arrangement.
He transcribed the text — as, mutatis mutandis, reproduced by Professor
Geiger — giving (with slight modification) Christopher’s translation
below it.
Geiger evidently preferred not to utilize the previous translations of
1837 and 1881 respectively, but to re-translate the text of both Letters
direct, as there are differences in his German renderings (not due to
conversion into English) from those of Christopher and Bell.
The original translations are, therefore, reprinted in Appendix D for
comparison. — B., Ed.
1 Geiger uses the plural, die Boote (“ boats”), throughout. This is
wrong: odi fahari (plural), “boats”; odi (singular), “boat.” — B., Ed.
§ finladu. An island in Tiladummati Atoll, the penultimate Atoll
of the group to the North. — B., Ed.
H
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50
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
the (Chief) Judge’s boats, Ahmad Didi’s boats,
FADIYARU ODI,2 AHAMMA DIDI ODI,2
of the Mandu House the boats, of the Iiiti-gas-daru House
MANDU-GE
the boats.
ODI.2
ODI,
At this time all
MI FAHARA’ EMMA
in health being are.
GADA-VE EBA-TIBUVEVE.3
HITI-G AS -D ARU-GE
the people
KALUN
At }mur
TIYA
port occurring news you should send.
RARU-GAI HURI KABARUN FONUVAtI.
At this port occurring news I send.
MI RARU-GAI HURI KABARU MI4 FONTTVIE.
From England a new Governor
is come.
VTLATUN
AU BOdA-SAhTBEN 5 ATUEVE.
England’s King is dead.*
VILATU RASGE MARUVEJJEVE.
Many million
LAKKA GINA
strings (of) greetings.
FARU’ SAL AM.
At this port fish we sold :
mi raru mas vikki :
fish from Himiti (for) seventy-seven dollars,
HIMITI-MAS
6
HAN -DIHA HAT RIyAlAYA’,
fish of the Male Atoll (for) sixty-seven,
MALE-ATOLU MAS FAS-DOLOS HATAKA’,
fish of F.-f.-k. (for) forty-seven.
fAdIN-FULU-KIRA-MAS f SALIS hataka’.
* The date of the Letter (not giver in it) is fixed very approximately
by the double intimation sent from Colombo. William IV. died on
June 20, 1837. The Right Hon. James Alexander Stewart Mackenzie
assumed the Governorship of Ceylon on November 7 of the same year.
Christopher sent the Maldivo Letter, with his Vocabulary, to Dr.
Wilson in April, 1838. — B., Ed.
f See footnote * on page 52, infra. — B., Ed.
51
>
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
Thus having sold occurring,
MI-HIDAN VIKKAIGEN TIBI AGIMIVEVE,7
many million strings (of) greetings. I write,
LAKKA GINA FARUN SAL AM. MI LIYUNI,
here being on Thursday.
MI-TAN -VI BARUSFATI DUVAHUN.
God if He permits, fourteen days I
MAT-K AT, AGE RUSSEVIYAI, SAUDA DUVAHU ALU-GADU
shall remain. My resolve stands firm.
FUR.4nEMEVE.8 * HITAI HURI-MEVE.
Translation.
The Captain of the Arabian ships (sends) greeting to all
the Maldivians staying in Galle.
The boats which at present are in this harbour are the
Arabian boats, Finladu boats, the boats with Presents, the
(Chief) Judge’s boats, Ahmad Didi’s boats, the boats of the
Mandu House, and the boats of the Hiti-gas-daru House.
All the people are well at the present time.
You should send us the news which you have (learnt) at
your port. I send the news which we Jiave (heard) here.
A new Governor has come from England. The King of
England is dead.
Many thousand greetings.
* furAnemeve here has nothing to do with fttrAn, “ to fill”: it =
S. pitatvenavd, “ start.” Both Christopher (lit., “ I shall have sailed ”)
and his editor. Dr. Wilson (lit., “ sailed I shall be,” “ I shall sail”),
were, therefore, quite right in their renderings.
The word is in use throughout the Maldives from North to South,
in the sense of “ starting (on a voyage),” “ sailing.” Thus : ma
bunbAya(n) dahar£ furanI (Male); ma bttnbAra e(r)nAve fura(r)-
Nfasri (FuaMulaku), “ I will sail for Bombay.”' — B., Ed.
52
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XXVII.
In this place we sold fish, thus : from Himiti for 77 dollars,
from Male Atoll for 67, from .... for 47. *
A thousand greetings.
I write this from here on Thursday. God willing, I shall
remain f here fourteen days yet. That is my intention.
Notes.
1 The first sentence is wrongly understood by Christo¬
pher. kalegefanu is the title of the particular malimi. J
2 fahari. Obscure!. In Christopher it is not translated. §
In what follows, the persons or families (mandu-ge:, hiti-
GAS-daru-ge, the latter being translated by Christopher as
“ bitter-tree -comer-house ”) to whom the boats belong are
named.
For fadiyaru, cf. L.V., p. 104 ; Bell, The Mdldive Islands,
p. 59.
* Geiger leaves FADiN-FULU-KmA-MAS untranslated. Christopher
(Wilson copying, with omission of “the”) has “the fAding-fulu
weighed fish.” Both misunderstand kikA in the particular connection.
“ Until recently the different pieces of dried bonito, or ‘Maidive fish’
(kalg-bili-mas, S. umbalakada), had a relative value to one another.
Thus, 4 medtj mas (the middle slices) = 2 gadu mas (the pieces along
back and belly ; considered best) = 7 himit! mas (whole fish divided
into four pieces ; at Himiti, and other islands of Nilandu and adjoining
Atolls) ^ their weight of ktr A mas (pieces between head and medu and
gadu pieces).” (Bell, The Mdldive Islands, p. 94.)
The words, therefore, mean “kbA pieces (of Maidive fish) from
fAdiffolg Atoll.” — B., Ed.
f See footnote * on page 51, supra ; also footnote f on page 53, infra.
— B., Ed.
$ Dr. Wilson supplemented Christopher’s word-for-word translation
with a running version of his own, intended to do little more than give
the “ summarized meaning ” of the Maidive letter.
Geiger, not aware of this, has turned his guns on Christopher,
whom he here unconsciously wrongs. Christopher — not incorrectly —
translated mAlimI-klalegefAnu 3At,Am, “ the saldm of the Malim
Chief.” This Wilson spoilt by separating the first two words, and
rendering thus : “the Malim. The Chief’s saldm."
kalegefAnu is about equivalent to the Sinhalese Rdlahdmi; kila-
gefAng to Sinhalese Nilamt. — B., Ed.
§ See footnote J on page 49, supra.- — B., Ed.
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies. 53
vedun odi is the boat which has to bring the Yearly
Tribute of the Sultan to the English Governor in Colombo.
3 Christopher, gada veeba tibItveve. With eba, cf.
above, III. 1 : 8, with Note ; gada-ve = gada-vi.
4 mi. Here mi, I believe, stands for ma : similarly below,
MI LIYUNI.
5 sahiben. Only another method of writing sahibe’.
Cf. above.
6 himitl The island home of Hasan-bin-Adam, men¬
tioned above. *
7 Obscure. Christopher translates agimiveve by “ for
the price.” f
8 alu-gadu furanemeve. Translated by Christopher as
“ sailed I shall be,” “ I shall sail.” I am in doubt with respect
to the second word. J
alu is “ slave,” and gadu or gandu often appears pleo-
nastically at the end of words: e.g., faru-gadu, “wound”;
buru-gadu, “wheel.” alu-gadu is a deferential mode of
expressing the Pronoun of the First Person ; just as in the
following Letter (cf. Note 13) for the Pronoun of the Third
Person.
furanemeve belongs to furan, “to fill ” ; thus, literally,
I shall complete fourteen days.” Cf. also Note 14 to the
following Letter. J
^ The fame of Himiti Island, in Nilandu Atoll, rests on the particular
class of “ Maidive fish ” it specializes in. — B., Ed.
f The meaning of the sentence mi- hid an vi(R)KAiGEisr tibi agImiveve
is : “ This is the price at which we have sold just now ” (or “ for the
present ”). — B., Ed.
J See footnote * on page 51, supra.
Geiger is all abroad in his rendering here.
Christopher partially misunderstood sahda duvahu, which he trans¬
lated (Wilson copying) “ in fourteen days.”
The sentence means : “ It is my intention (hitai huri-meve) to sail
(lit., start) on the fourteenth day, God willing.” — B., Ed.
54
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
2. — Missive from the Sultan of the Maldives : * A.D. 1795.
(Bell, “The MdlcUve Islands Ceylon , 1883, pp. 78-81.)
Hail ! The glorious, great-fame-possessing,
SUVASTI, SERIMATA, MAHA-SERI-BARI,
in wisdom pre-eminent, from noble race sprung,
kusa-furadAna,1 f sir! kula,
to the moon and the sun comparable ruler,
SADA IRA SlAKA2f SASTURA,
the excellent warrior Sultan Hasan Nur-ud-din
AUDANA 3 f KATTIRI AS -SULTAN HASAN NUR-UD-DIN
Iskandar, the warrior of the world, the great King,
ISKANDAR , KATTIRI BOVANA, MAhA-RADUN,
to the Colombo Governor’s King,
KOLUBU GORUNU d6rEVE KIyA4 RASGEFAna’,
here a thousand million strings greetings.
MI-TA’ LAKKA hAs FARU’ SALAM.
Of Your Excellency in Colombo formerly existing
manikufAnume’-ge kolubu-gai ihu ulu’vi
Kings (and) in this Maldivian kingdom
rasraskalunnAi mi divehi-rAjje-gai
formerly existing Kings friendship
ihu ulu’vi rasraskalunnAi rahmatrika
* See Plate IV.
f ktjsa-furadAna ; sr Aka ; audAna. Regarding these, and all the
other epithets, see the full explanations (ignored by Geiger) suggested
in the Notes which accompanied the previous translation of this Missive
of Sult&n Hasan Nur-ud-din (Bell, The Maldive Islands, pp. 78-81).
They will be found reproduced in Appendix D. — B., Ed.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
55
had existed to Your Excellency
BEHETTEVI EADAl’ ME 5 MANIKUFANAI
we in our hearts friendship
tima’ manikufanu hi’-eulu-gai6 raemat
cherishing are on Your Excellency’s part
bahattavaige’ hunnevime manikueanume’ kibai’ 7
wishing (it) are. Of this Maldivian kingdom
EDI TIBIMAVE. MI DIVEIII RAJJEl’
a boat or vessel wrecked being to Your Excellency
odie’ done’8 behige’ gos manikueana’
a known place if it is, then you should send for,
XABARI-VE TANAKU TIBI-NAMA, E-BAYAKU9 GE’ DAVAI,
these people’s welfare you should see to.
E MIHU’-GE HAIHUNU-KA’ 10 BELLA VUMAI.
Against this kingdom an enemy
MI DIVEHI RAJJEA’ ADAVATTERIAKU
to Your Excellency if is known, to him
manikueana’ egijje-nama, e-bayaka’
Your Excellency should not lend countenance.
manikufanume’ nu-russevumeve.
Of Your Excellency worthy though it be not, a little
manikufanumennai araeodi ge’ nuva, kuda
present (by) Ahmad the Under Treasurer
HADIAYA-KOLA-KAI 11 AHMAD KUDA BADERI KEVI 12
to you we (have) sent. By him intimated a wish
TIA EANUVVIMU. MI ALA DENNEVI KAME’
you should fulfil. On his part a mistake
KURAVVAI. MI ALU 13 KIBAI TAXSIRR
56
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
if it happen you should pardon. By first monsoon
vias mo’af kuravvai. avvalu musumu-gai
. '. . wishing we are.
FURUVA KAMA’14* EDI-VADAIGE’ HUNNEVfME.
In the Hejira year 1210.
1210 SAN AT.
Translation.
Hail ! The glorious, renowned, most wise, nobly-born ruler,
comparable to the moon and the sun, the heroic warrior
Sultan Hasan Nur-ud-din Istcandar, the warrior, the great
King of the earth, to the King of the Governor in Colombo, f
many thousand greetings from here.
As friendship lias existed between the former Kings of
Your Excellency in Colombo and the former Kings of the
Maldivian kingdom, we also bear friendship to Your Excellency
in our hearts, and dfesire the same on Your Excellency’s part.
Should any kind of boat or vessel of this country be
wrecked, if the place is known, Your Excellency should have
the people brought away and care taken for their well-being.
If any one is known to Your Excellency who is inimicably
disposed to this country, Your Excellency should not tolerate
(such person).
Although it does not correspond to the dignity of Your
Excellency, I have sent you a little present by the Under
Treasurer, Ahmad. If he intimates any wish, you should
(kindly) gratify it : if a mistake is made on his part, you
should (kindly) pardon it.
I await his return by the first monsoon.
* ftjbuvA kama’, “ starting ” (i.e., sailing). — B., Ed.
f kiyA = S. kiya, “ called.” gorijnu d6reve kiyA rasgefAna(a),
“to the Ruler styled the Governor”; not “to the King of the
Governor ” {an den Konig des Gouverneurs), as Geiger has it.1 — B., Ed.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
57
Notes.
1 furadana. Sans, pradhana. But what is kusa ? * * * §
2 A difficult word. I should think it is corrupted from
Sans, chayd, “ shadow ” ; here “ image ” = S. sd- *
3 audana. I here take for Sans, avaddna, in the significance
of “ heroic deed.” *
4 Could the word, to which kiya seems to point, be a
proper name ? f
5 Not completely clear, behettevi belongs to a Passive
Verb, bahattan (cf. bahattavaige’). In Christopher it is =
“ to place,” “ to arrange.” %
6 tima’ manikufanu. Literally, “ My (Our) Excellency.”
hi’ fulu = hin-fulu ; hin, “ heart ” ; fulu, a pleonastic
epithet, as, for example, in dari-fulu, and more frequently.
7 kibai’. Cf. quibat, “ side,” in Pyrard.
8 As regards odi and doni (here d6ne’), see Notes to
III. 2: 13.
9 My helper gave me forms of verbs like ebae-miiiu^
diya, “they go”; EBA.E-Mmu:tsr roni, “they weep,” &c.
This ebae is in each case put in for comparison.
10 Uncertain, haihunu-ka’ appears to be related to
ttf.tt. “ good.” § ka’ (S. Team; P. kcimma) often forms abstract
terms : e.g., rahmatrika above, which appears to be a
corruption from rahmatterika’.
11 For kuda and kola, cf. Notes to III. 3 : A 5.
* See footnote f on page 54, supra.— B., Ed.
t See footnote f 011 Page 56, supra.— B., Ed.
X behe(/\)tevi fadax(a), “as existed before.” — B., Ed.
§ haihUntt-ka(a), “ wants,” or “ welfare.”— B„ Ed.
I
17-18
58
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
12 baderi. This, as Bell states, is a title, which originally
only belonged to the Treasurer (Sans. BhariddgdriTca), but
subsequently was also applied to other persons of rank. The
word Kb vi is obscure. *
13 For mi ala, mi alun, cf. Note 8 to preceding Letter.
14 The conclusion is not quite clear to me. According
to Bell, the meaning is, “ allow him (the Ambassador) to
return in the (first) favourable monsoon.” f
In Christopher, vapAigennavAA, “ to go,” is found. To me
the verb appears to be merely periphrastic ; like the use of the
S. vadinu.
In euruva Kama’ there must be included some idea like
“ return.” J
* K±vi. Perhaps = nIsvi, “ tindal ” (Bell, The Maldive Islands,
pp. 63, 80). — B.,Ed.
f a(a)vaXjXT MtTSTTMU-OAX More closely, “ at the beginning of the
monsoon ” (or “ season ”). — B., Ed.
J See footnote * on pages 51, 56, supra. — B., Ed.
Extea I}o. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
59
SECTION II.
THE GRAMMAR OF THE MALDIVIAN LANGUAGE.*
The desire to study Sinhalese in connection with the dialects
most closely allied to it caused me, during my stay in Ceylon, f
to follow the study of the still very little known Maldivian
Language, so far as time and opportunity were available.
My interest has not diminished with the great distance
which now separates me from my beloved Ceylon. On the
contrary, it has only increased ; and extends not only to the
language, but to the people of the Maldives, their civilization,
and their history.
I think that each one of us, within the sphere of his studies,
has a special, narrower province, in which he busies himself
with particular predilection and inward zeal, and to which he
always returns. Such a province to me, at tills time, are the
distant Maidive Islands, surrounded by the blue waves of the
Indian Ocean.
At first it was the special attraction of the new and unknown
which drew me. I must confess, even at the risk of being
blamed by one or other of my fellow students, that I was
always very susceptible to this charm. With each step
forward in the Maldivian wilderness my wish became stronger,
to perform, in a modest sphere, the work of the pioneer, and
at least to break a'little new ground here and there.
Our knowledge of the Maidive Language up to the present
time has been indeed scanty.
Only the first narrow track was cut by the “ Vocabularies ”
published by Pyrard and Christopher. % They gave scarcely
* Cf. Sitzungsber. der K. Bayer, Akademie d. W., 1900, p. 641 seq.
f From December 8, 1895, to March 15, 1896. (Reise nach Ceylon in
Winter, 1895-1896.) — B., Ed.
f See Appendix A. — B., Ed.
60
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
any explanation of the Structure of the Language and the
Grammar of the Maldivians. Of Maldivian Texts, only two
incantations (given by Bell) are known,* * * § as well as two short
Letters, communicated by Christopher f and Bell. J
The results which these Texts afforded for the knowledge of
Maldivian Grammar are, indeed, extremely scanty. Besides,
there is much in the Letters, especially in the second, which is
difficult and obscure.
I, therefore, at the beginning, directed my aim to recording
simple Sentences, as well as connected Stories, in addition
to isolated Grammatical Forms.
0
My helpers, when in Colombo, were Ibrahim Didi ; § and
since (through the aid of my friend, A. Mendis Gunasekara,
Mudaliyar) the Bengali merchant Sheik Ali, who, having
lived many years on the Maldives, was a past master in
Maldivian.
* Published in the Journal, R.A.S. , Ceylon Branch, 1881, VI., p, 121.
t Journal, R.A.S., 1840, VI., p. 73.
t Bell, The Mdldive Islands, Colombo, p. 78.
§ Cf. the Account of my Journey in the Sitzungsber. der K. Bayer,
Akadomie d. W., 1896, p. 214.
[Professor Geiger does the scantiest justice in these “ Studies ” to that
very courteous gentleman, A. Ibrahim Didi Effendi, Dorhimena-kilage-
fanu, Prime Minister to His Highness the Sultan of the Maidive Islands,
to whose kind consideration the Professor owed so much in the prosecu¬
tion of his Maldivian research.
With infinite patience and condescension the Prime Minister seems
to have allowed himself to be “bombarded” for three days on end by a
continuous “fire” of wearying linguistic questions, until — the Professor
is fain to admit — he, very naturally, “ grew tired” (ermudet schien).
The invaluable aid, ungrudgingly rendered, has been barely acknow¬
ledged here, or elsewhere (see supra, page 11, footnote *) ; though the
Professor pays special and well-deserved compliments to A. Mendis
Gunasekara, Mudaliyar, and the late Sheik Ali.
The following paragraph (kindly translated by Mr. C. H. Collins,
Honorary Secretary of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society)
appears in Geiger’s Ceylon Tagebuchblatter und Reiseerinnerungen
(Wiesbaden, 1.898) : —
“ A favourable opportunity occurred, on which I had, indeed, not
reckoned. My resourceful friend, Gunas6kara Mudaliyar, came to
know that the Prime Minister of the Sultan of the Maldives, Ibrahim
Didi Effendi, was staying in Colombo.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
61
We must always count on double uncertainty — first, the
possibility of verbal error having slipped into Sheik Aliks
communications, and secondly, that I myself, in spite of all
my pains, can hardly have completely escaped errors and
misunderstandings .
The Texts which I have collected in Section I., and which
are printed in the Sitzungsber. der K. Bayer, Akademie d. W.,
1900, include : —
I. — Thirty Sentences in German and Maldivian.
II. — Thirty Sentences in German, Sinhalese, and Maldivian.
III. — Three Fables in German, Sinhalese, and Maldivian : —
A. — The Horse and the Donkey.
B. — The Wise Judge.
C. — The Lion, the Ass, and the Jackal.
IV. — Two Maldivian Letters (taken from Christopher and
Bell).
I must state plainly, that the Fables, which have well-known
titles, are not Maldivian originals, but have been translated,
from English sources, ** into Maldivian. In spite of this, I
believe that with the publishing of the Texts a good step
further forward has been taken.
I hope that, through the assistance of the British Govern¬
ment in Colombo (to whom I have applied), I shall succeed in
“ I sought him in the house of his host, which was not far from my
bungalow, and found him prepared to acquiesce in my desires. Not
without a certain natural dignity, such as the more distinguished
Muhammadans often possess, and at first not without a certain hesi¬
tancy, he met me in the verandah. His mistrust, if his hesitancy
proceeded from that cause, quickly vanished, and we understood each
other excellently.
“For three days a lively play of question and answer went on. When
Didi seemed tired, one of his companions took over the conversation
in his place. He was an intelligent man, and, like Didi himself, spoke
tolerable English.”
Small wonder— ms the Professor himself adds ingenuously — that the
“ servants stood around, staring and amazed, and perhaps considered
me, with my singular tastes, a trifle cracked ! ” (hielt mich mit rneinen
cibsonderlichen neigungen vielleicht auch fur einwenig verruchtJ). — B., Ed,.]
* See supra, page 42, footnote *. — B., Ed.
62
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
getting more extensive Texts in the Maldivian Language ; and
especially copies of the Inscriptions which are still to be found
on the Maldives, The knowledge of the Old Writing, in which
these Inscriptions are cut,* seems, besides, to be confined to
single persons.
I myself shall never again have an opportunity of a journey
to Ceylon, however willing I may be to undertake it. The
greatness of the distance gives rise to many difficulties.
Thus, the principal object of my “Maldivian Studies ” must
be, to put in motion an energetic beginning to Scientific In¬
vestigation of the Maldivian Language on the very spot ; where
alone it can really be carried out with satisfactory results.
In the following pages I intend to arrange, first, the Gram¬
matical Materials contained in the Texts collected by me ; then
to complete it from the Forms and Paradigms which I wrote
down in Colombo.
It need hardly be said that herein no claim is put forward
to a completely finished account of the Maldivian Language.
* With the exception of tombstone records — of which Mr. Bell,
when at M&16 in 1879, copied three or four carved in the old characters
(dives akueu), as well as the new (gabuli tAna) — it is improbable
that real inscriptions have survived on the Islands, save such Arabic
epigraphs as that round the Tower of the Chief Mosque at Male. —
B„ Ed.
Extea No. — 1919.] mAldivtan linguistic studies.
63
I.— SUBSTANTIVES.
(a) Expression of the Numbers.
Definite Article Forms.
e’,* “ the elephant ” ; emme ete’, “ an elepliant ” ; etta’,
“ elephants.”
mihA, “ the human being ” ; emme mihe’, “ a human
being ” ; mihun, “ human beings.”
mi gas, “ this tree ” ; emme gahe’, “ a tree ” ; gas-ta’,
“ trees.”
roi, “ the book ” ; eote’, “ a book.”
oei, “ the twig ” ; ofi-ta’, “ twigs.”
male’, “ a flower ” ; ma, “ flowers.”
mule’, “ a root ” ; mu, “ roots.”
Compare the Plural Forms in the Text, like fas kudh5t,
“five children” (III. 1 : 8) ; hataku dari, “four children ”
(III. 2 : 16) ; tim-mihu’, “ three people ” (III. 1:7); kiha
duvahui^, “ in how many days ? ” (III. 2 : 28) ; raru-gai
huei kabarun, “ the news at the port ” (Malim’s Letter).
Further, mida-ta’, “ rats ” (III. 2: 7) ; harufA-ta’,
“snakes” (III. 2: 24); divehi-rut-ta’, “coconut palms”
(III. 2 : 4).
* The mute sound (closing of the top of the throat) which appears
in Maldivian at the end of a word in the place of different consonants —
here, e.g., for t — is regularly transcribed by me as (the sign) ’ in the
words which follow. The Maldivians themselves, who have no fixed
orthography, write this sound variously as n or r. The symbol for
r is very close to N and (avieni, shown as) ’, and are interchangeable.
[See supra, pages 27-28, footnote f. The Mai dive sign for r is easily
differentiated from that for n by its having but one loop, instead of
two, in the upper or horizontal part of the letter (c/. Maldivian Letters
given in Section I., Plates III., IV.). The sign for avieni is quite
unlike both R and N, resembling roughly the Arabic numeral a, “ 8.”
— B„ Ed.]
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JOURNAL, K.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Sometimes, in the formation of the Plural, the Substantive is
doubled : faffal6-*a’, “ fruits ” (from fal-falo) ; mis-mihtjn,
“ human beings ” (III. 3 : A 7).
The Particle indicating the Plural is pronounced ta, or,
more accurately, ta’. I also heard tan.
In Maldivian letters we find tan or ta’ ( cf . the Note).
In writing in Sinhalese characters, as is sometimes done by
my friend, A. Mendis Gunasekara. Mudaliyar, at times tag
appears. The G here is to express the closing of the top of
the throat.*
Indefinite Article Forms.
Forms with the so-called Indefinite Article are sitiye’, “ a
letter ” (III. 1 : 23) ; baye’, “a share ” (III. 3:03); odie’,
“a boat” (Sultan’s Missive) ; bala-mihaku, “a messenger”
(III. 1 : 22 ; at the end of the sentence : miheka) ; ekaktj,
“one,” “the one,” Masculine and Feminine (III. 2: 16;
III. 3 : B 1 and 5) ; emme kujjayat-takAi (III. 3 : B 1 ; from
ak-takai) ; ahak-ai himArak-Ai, “ a horse and an ass ” (III.
3 : A 1) ; hiyalak-A, vagak-A, himArak-A, “a jackal, a lion,
and an ass ” (III. 3 : Cl).
(b) Expression of the Cases.
1. — Genitive.
mi miha-ge ambi, “ this man’s wife ” (III. 2 : 18) ; e
soru-ge bafaya’, “ to the father of the boy ” (III. 1:3);
fansas kari-ge aga, “ the price of fifty coconuts ” (III. 2:5);
rajje-ge goi, “ the climate of the country ” (III. 2:8);
dari-ge amA, “ the child’s mother ” (III. 3 : B 6). A Genitive
Plural is gas-gahu-ge fai, “ the leaves of the trees ”
(III. 1 : 29).
There is no need to remark that the Genitive formation
(-ge) of the Maldivian Language is the same as the Sinhalese
ge. As regards this, see Geiger, Litteratur und Sprache der
Singhalesen ( Ind . tyrdr., I., 10, p. 62).
* Of. infra.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies. 65
I have written the Maldivian -ge (not -ge) ; but I note that
the length of the final vowel, the e, is very uncertain. Not
my own writing only, but that of the Maldivians also varies
frequently (in this respect).
The Genitive relation can also be expressed by Compound
Words.
Thus, e soru bafAya’ is found, beside e soru-ge bafAya’.
So also e himAru burekari macca, “ on the back of the
donkey” (III. 3 : A 2) ; himAru veri-mihA, “ the owner of
the donkey” (III. 3: A 6); kale bebe ata’, “to 'your
brother’s hand ” (III. 1 : 4).
2. — Instrumental.
em-maguisi ( = ek-magun), “ by means of the straight
road” = “on the straight road” (III. 3 : A 1) ; dTvehi-
rukan, “ with coconut wood ” (III. 2:6); baliyii^, “ by
illness ” (III. 2:8); a&gayi&, “ with the mouth ” (III. 3 : B 4).
The first two admit of different meanings, but the last
two show the same mode of formation as the Sinhalese, with
Inanimate Substantives.
3. — Dative.
bafAya’, “ to the father ”’(III. 1:3); mi-tana’, “ to this
place” = “hither” (III. 1: 23); vala’, “to the jungle,”
“ in the jungle ” (III. 2 : 9) = S. Jcele-ta; geya’, “ to the house,”
“in the house” (III. 2 : 11) = S. ge-ta ; gondudora’, “to
the sea coast,” “ on the shore (gone) ” (III. 2 : 13) ; jela’,
“ to prison ” (III. 3 : B 6) = S. hira-ge-ta ; tIm-baya’, “ in
three parts (to divide) ” (III. 3 : C 2) = S. tun-bhdgayaka-ta ;
funnnaka’ ek-koffA, “in a heap gathering” (III. 3 : C 2)
= S. godaka-ta ek-kota; d6niyaka’ arAnume, “we will
embark on the boat ” (III. 2 : 13).
Compare, further, e de aniIenunna’, “ (give it) to the two
women ” (III. 3 : B 3) = S. strin-ta ; aharamenna’, “ for us ”
(III. 2 : 22) = S. apa-ta; timannaya’, “ for himself ” (III. 3 :
C6) = S. tama-ta ; kaleya’, “ to you (I shall send) ” (III. 2 :
26) = S. umba-ta ; e-kabulegeya’, “to her (giving) ” (III. 3 :
B 6) = S. d-ta.
K
17-18
66
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Also -gata, “to,” “in the neighbourhood of”: e.g., ahara-
men-gata’, “ to us ” (III. 2 : 8) — S. apa vetata ; niyayaveri-
gata’, “ to the Judge ” (III. 3 : B 1) = S. viniscaya-kdrayek
langa-ta, Datives of the suffix -gai.
The writing of the Dative varies between -an1, -a’, -ar,
-ag, -a. I heard -a’ or -an (see the Text) ; but have here used
the spelling -a’.
I think that the Maldivian Dative formation corresponds
to the Sinhalese -ta, the sound of which is very close to -ra ;
and that instead of R being suppressed after the disappearance
of the short final vowel, the closing of the top of the throat
has been introduced.
In just the same way, from the Sinhalese kota we get the
Maldivian ko’, “ having done ” ; from the Sinhalese otu,
“ camel,” the Maldivian 6’.
But mara, “to me,” has retained the original Dative
ending (= S. mala): e.g., foi mara badi, “give me the
book ” ; E nokiru mara genai sitiye’, “ the servant brought
me a letter ” (III. 1 : 2 and 21), &c.
The ending is preserved if there is a lengthening of the word,
as, e.g., in the Sentence (III. 1 : 28) e meva vetuni gahun
bimare, “the fruit fell from the tree (on to the ground)”
= S. bima-ta. The e added at the end, which appears to cor¬
respond to the -ya ending sentences in Sinhalese, has in this
place prevented the r from becoming mute.*
As in Sinhalese, the Dative appears in Maldivian in Sentences
of Comparison.
Thus, e.g., mi gas uhe e gaha’ vuren, f “ this tree is
higher than that tree ” (III. 1 : 14).
* This is the general rule, but it is liable to occasional exceptions :
e.g., vilA(t) or viiA(a), “ Europe ” ; malA(t), “ Malay ” ; s6liyA(t),
“Moor”; also fene6(a)ru(a), “arecanut tree”; and in Anglo-Mal-
divian words, such as Agu-b6t, “ steamer” (? “cffigo-boat,” onomato-
poetic). — B., Ed.
f The word vureiSt, which also is found in Sentences III. 1 : 12, 15,
and 18, after the Dative, is not clear to me. [Possibly connected
with the Sinhalese expletive viru. — B., Ed.]
67
EXTRA^O. — 1919.] MALDIVIAN LINGUISTIC STUDIES.
Finally, it seems as if the same case were used to express
the agent, in the construction of Passive Sentences.
To this category belong the Sentences ahabamenna’ magu
nu-belene varaka’, “the road by us is not (to be) seen ”
(III. 2 : 21) = S. apa-ta maga no-penena tarama-ta ; enaya’
. nu-ivete, “ by her ... is not heard ” (III. 2 :
18) ; timannaya’ dari nu-libene, “by me the child is not
taken ” (III. 3 : B 5).
4. — Ablative.
gahun, “ (falls) from the tree ” (III. 1 : 28) ; rarun, “ (came)
from the town” (III. 1 : 22) ; magebarun, “(apart) of my load ”
(III. 3 : A3); vilatun, “ from Europe ” (Malim’s Letter) ;
maha-radun, “ from the great King ” (Sultan’s Missive).
A suffix to indicate the Ablative is kuren : e.g., anhenu^
kure:£ ekaku, “ one of the women ” (III. 3 : B 4) =
i
S. e str in-gen ekiyak ; mage rahumaitterin kuren ekaku,
“ one of my friends ” (III. 2 : 16) = S. mage mitrayek.
Of course, kure:n corresponds to the S. keren. With regard
to this, compare my Etymologie des Singhalesischen, No. 381.*
As an Ablative form, I mention viyafariveriyaku furun,
“ (sent) by a merchant ” (III. 1 : 22).
In Sinhalese, pera means “ in front of ” (see Clough).
Whether peren is used in the Ablative sense of “from,”
exactly corresponding to the Maldivian furun, I do not
know.f
5. — Locative.
The Locative Case is expressed by the suffix -gai, -ga’.
Whether it is connected with the S. gavd, “ near,” as Guna-
sekara, in a private communication to me, suggests, I do not
know. In the Dative form the suffix is -gata’ ; which does
not seem to confirm that connection.
* The Ablative with kuren is used, as in Sinhalese, with the Verb
ahaN', “ to ask ” : e.g., hiyal-kttreN ehi, “ he asked the jackal ” = S.
hivala-gen esuva (III. 3 : 0 7).
f The Sinhalese form peren, “ before ” (from Elu pert), does not
appear ever to have the force of S. lava = Maldivian fubun, “ by,” or
“ from.” — B., Ed.
68
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Examples of the Locative are mi gahu-ga’, “ to this tree ”
(III. 1 : 5) ; badg£)-gai, “ in the kitchen ” (III. 2 : 2) ;
aharameisi-ge raru-gai, “ in our country ” (III. 2 : 4) :
eta-gai,* “there” (III. 2: 10; probably e-tag-gai —
e-tan-gai, cf. S. e-tana) ; valu-gai, “ in the jungle ” (III. 2 :
24) ; divehi-rajje-gai, “ on the Maldives” (III. 2:3); hitu-
gai, “ in mind,” “ in spirit ” (III. 2 : 23).
A Locative is also dependent on the Verb talan, “to
strike” (balu-ga’, “the dog”), and on dae-ganna^, “to
bite ” (III. 1 : 26).
The Plural form e rattaku-gai, “on those Islands” (III.
2: 7), which has risen from rar-taku, is worthy of note.
The expression kon raren-he, “ in what town ? ” is not
very clear (III. 2 : 29).
6. — Emphatic Case.
The Maldivian Language also has an Emphatic Case, which
ends in -f. Thus : mi gahi, “ this tree ” ; as well as mi gas
(III. 1 : 13 and 14) ; mi harufayi, “ this snake ” (III. 1 : 9).
I also consider mii, in the sentence mii kale-ge niyAkan
viyA, “ if this is Your (Honour’s) decision ” (III. 3 : B 5), as
such an Emphatic Case.
7. — Prepositional Connections.
In conclusion, some relationships with Prepositions may
be quoted.
Among these, of course, may be noticed : burikari macca,
“ on the back ” (III. 3 : A 2) ; bim macce, “ (he fell) to the
ground” (III. 3 : A 5) ; ahu macca, “ on the horse ” (III.
3: A 6); mismihun macca, “(be merciful) to people” (III.
3: A 7); emme kujjayat-takai, “on account of a child”
(III. 3: B 1); kuda iru-kolu FAHmsr, “a short time after¬
wards ” (III. 3 : A 5) = S. madu velavaka-ta pasu.
The Preposition macca is doubtless connected with S. matu.
matte, mattehi, “above,” “on.” Cf. Etymologie des Singlia-
lesischen, No. 1 ,043.
* Cf. etA-gai (III. 2 : 30).
Extra No.— 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
69
II.— ADJECTIVES.
1. — Attributive.
The Attributive Adjective is found : e.g., in vara’ bodu
gahe, “ a very large tree ” (III. 1 : 13) ; fehi eai, “ green
leaves ” (III. 1 : 29) ; enA-ge hagu a^heist-dari, “ her
youngest daughter ” (III. 2 : 16) ; kuda etikolei, “ a small
part ” (III. 3 : 0 6); au bodA-sAhiben ( i.e ., -be’), “ a new
Governor ” (Malim’s Letter).
2. — Predicative.
The Predicative Adjective occurs: e.g., in mi meva raha
fonye, “ the taste of this fruit is sweet ” (III. 1 : 11) ; mi
HEDuri hudu, “this dress is white” ; mi veli rindu, “this
sand is yellow”; le rai, “blood is red”; udu nule, “the
sky is blue ” (III. 1 - 30).
3. — Comparative.
Examples of the Comparative of Adjectives are quoted
under I. (b).
Our word “very” corresponds to the Maldivian vara’
(also written varan). Thus, e.g., vara’ bali vejjeve, “ he
became very tired ” (III. 3 : A 2) ; nAri varan hare, “ the
coconut shell is very hard ” (III. 1 : 16).
70
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
III.— NUMERALS.
1. — Cardinal Numbers.
Tho Maldivian Cardinal Numbers are mentioned by Rana-
sinha in Journal, R.A.S., Ceylon Branch, 1882, VII., No. 25,
p. 241.
On pages 253 and 254 (idem) Bell deals with The Mdldive
Numerals, giving the Numbers from “ 1 ” to “ 100,” according
to both Duodecimal and Decimal Systems.
From Ibrahim Dicli’s information, I, too, made a complete
list, and repeat them here, with connected remarks : —
1 = eke’ ; S. ek.
2 — de’ ; S. dek,
3 = tine’ ; S. tun.
4 = hat are’ ; S. hatara.
5 = eahe’ ; S. pas.
6 = haye’ ; S. ha.
7 = hate’ ; S. hat.
8 = are ; S. ata.
9 = nuvaye’ ; S. nava.
10 = dihaye’ : S. daha.
The forms probably correspond to the Substantive forms in
-ak in Sinhalese, like dekak, tunak ; e.g., pol-gedi paliak, “ fyve
coconut trees ” (see Litteratur und Sprache der Singhalesen,
pp. 65-66). The original forms are therefore ekek, dek,
tinek.*
It is striking that Pyrard (as printed) gives hec, dec, but
tinet, ataret (also, further, atec) clearly. In Pyrard’s time
the final consonants were faintly sounded, f
11 = egara . . P. ekarasa, but S. ekolos.
12 = bara, or dolos . . P. barasa, S. dolos.
* The Copenhagen Manuscript (see Sitzungsber. der K. Bayer, Aka-
demie d. W., 1900, p. 649), in fact, has hatarek, eahek, &c.
f Gray’s salutary warning (Journal, R.A.S., 1879, X., p. 185) is not
heeded by Geiger : “ I must remind those who peruse it (Pyrard’s
Vocabulary) that Pyrard was a Frenchman. The Maidive words must,
therefore, be pronounced as if they were French, in order to sound as
Pyrard intended them to.” — B., Ed.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
71
13 = t£ra
14 = SAUDA
15 = FANARA
16 = s6la
17 = SATARA
18 = ARARA
19 = ONAVIHI
20 = vihi
P. terasa, S. teles.
P. catuddasa, but S. tudus.
P. pancadasa, but S. pahalos.
P. solasa, S. solos.
P. sattarasa, but S. satalos.
P. atthdrasci, but S. atalos.
P. ( ek)unavisan , S. ( ek)unvisi .
P. visan, S. visi.
The Numerals are of interest from the fact that some of them
are more closely related to the Pali than the corresponding
forms in Sinhalese.
Instead of sauda * (which is historically correct), I heard
the expression sada.
The form for “ 19 ” is worthy of note. It shows that in the
Pr&krit foundation of Sinhalese and Maldivian a form must
have existed which corresponded to the Sanskrit una-vinsati
(with omission of the eka).
The tens beyond 20 are : —
30 = TIRIS
40 = SALIS
50 = FANSAS
60 = FASDOLOS (5 X 12) . .
70 = HAIDIHA (7 X 10) X . .
80 = ATIHA (? ADDIHA)
(8 X 10) X
90 = NUVADIHA (9 X 10) %
100 = SATEKA
1000 = HAHE’
c/. P. tinsan, S. tis.
S. salis, but P. cattalisan.
cf. P. panndsan, S panas. f
cf. below.
Bell has hattiri.
Bell has Ahi.
Bell has navai.
Bell has; but L.V., hiya.
has in L.V.
* sauda is given by Bell. The form also appears in the Malim’s
Letter published by Christopher (see supra, page 49), and likewise in
the “ London Vocabulary.” Cf. on this subject Sitzungsber. der K.
Bayer, Akademie d. W., 1900, p. 649 seq.
f Cf. my Litteratur und Sprache der Singhalesen, p. 93. In Bell
(The Mdldive Islands, p. 121) I find also fanas and fansas.
f Clearly new formations, which are just being introduced.
72
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
I also give the Numbers between 20 and 30 ; as well as
between 30 and 40, 40 and 50 ; and the hundreds, as I recorded
them : —
21 = ekAvis.
22 = BA VIS.
23 = TEVIS.
24 = sauvis.
25 = FANS AVIS.
26 = SABBIS.
27 — HATAVIS.
28 = ARAvIS.
29 = ONATIRIS.
31 = ETTIRIS.
32 = BATTIRIS.
33 = TETTIRIS.
34 = SAURATIRIS.
35 = FANSATIRIS.
36 = SATIRIS.
37 = SATUTIRIS.
38 = ARUTIRIS .
39 = ONASALIS.
Of these Numbers, fasdolos, “ 60,” is of importance, because
it confirms the existence of a Duodecimal System.
As I observed before, Bell ( Journal , R.A.S., Ceylon Branch ,
No. 25, pp. 253-254) has quoted two complete Series of
Numbers (up to “100”), a Duodecimal and a Decimal: the
latter, on the whole, agrees with the one quoted by me.
Single derivations are to be seen in both the forms under
consideration.
In the former, “ 20,” for instance, is dolos-are (= 12 + 8) ;
“ 24,” fassehi (?) ;* “ 30,” fassehi-haye’ (= 2 x 12 + 6) ;
* Geiger queries fassehi doubtfully for “24” ; but it is, or was,
thus used in the Duodecimal System of the Maldivians. Thus, Pyrard
has passee as equivalent to “ vingtquatre.'1’ It may also have been =
S. pas-visi , “ 25 ” ; and possibly partook, then, of like confusion in
accounting, as no wadays#bet ween the “Indian four anna piece ” (= 24
pice) and the “ Ceylon twenty-five cent piece.”— B., Ed.
41 = ekalis.
42 = BAYALIS.
43 = TEYALIS.
44 = SAURAYALIS.
45 = FAN SAY ALIS .
46 = SAY ALIS.
47 = SATALIS.
48 = arAlis.
49 = onafansAs.
200 = DUISATTA.
300 = TINSATEKA.
400 - hatarusaT£ka.
500 = FASSATEKA.
600 = HASATEKA.
700 = HAISATEKA.
800 = ASSATEKA.
900 = NUVASATEKA.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
73
“ 36,” TIN-DOLOS (= 3 x 12) ; “ 40,” tin-dolos -hat are’
(= 3 X 12 + 4), &c. It is concluded with hiya (= 100),
which comes close to 96 (= 8 X 12).
The “ London Vocabulary,” with some errors, has the
same Numerals. For example, “ 20 ” is given as dolos-are’,
“ 21 ” as DOLOS-NUVAYE.
So, too, in the case of the “ Copenhagen Vocabulary,”
which contains only itwenty-one Numerals.
Ibrahim Didi’s communications confirm Bell’s statement
(The Mdldive Islands ^ p. 121) that the Duodecimal System
has begun to die out ; but they also show that for the
number “ 60,” where Decimal and Duodecimal notation are
both found, the form 5 x 12 has become generally natu¬
ralized.*
For the combination of Numerals and Substantives, my
Texts offer sufficient examples.
The Numeral stands in its original form, and precedes the
Substantive.
Thus, ha bakari, “ six sheep” (unedited Text); fansas
hataru ruk-e, “ fifty -four coconut palms ” (III. 1 : 6) ;
tim-mihu’, “ three mbn ” (III. 1 : 7) ; fas KUDitf, “ five
children ” (III. 1 : 8) ; fansas kari, “ fifty coconuts ”
(III. 2:5); hataru dari, “ four children ” (III. 2: 16) ; de
AisfHENUN, “ two women ” (III. 3 : B 1) ; tim-baya’ bahan,
“ divide in three parts ” (III. 3 : C 2) ; sauda duvahu,
“ fourteen days ” (Malim’s Letter) ; tin duvas, “ three days ”
(Journal, R.A.S., Ceylon Branch, No. 24, p. 122).
2. — Ordinals.
The Ordinals are derived by means of the suffix -vana.
In Sinhalese of the present day the corresponding ending is
veni ; in Elu it is vana , or vanna.
* Ibrahim Didi told me that dolos, “ 12,” belongs to the “ common
language,” but bAra to the “ better language.”
L
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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
“ First ” is furatama, L.V. = Sans, prathama.
We have : —
1st = furutama.
2nd = DEVANA.
3rd = TIN VAN A.
4th = HATARAVANA.
5 th = FASVANA.
6th = HAVANA.
7th = HAIVANA.
8th = AVVANA.
9th = NUVAVANA.
10th = DIHAVANA.
11th = EGARAVANA.
12th = BARA V ANA.
20th = VIHIVANA.
30th = TIRISVANA.
40 th = SALISVANA.
50th = FANSASVANA.
60th — FAS-DOLOS-VANA.
&C.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
75
IV— PRONOUNS.
I
1. — Personal Pronouns.
Ibrahim Didi gave me the following forms : —
ma, “ I ” ; kale, “ thou ” ; ena, “ he,” “ she ” ; ahare-
me^t, “ we ” ; kalemen, “ you ” ; ebIe-mihu^t, “ they.”
From the Text we get the following forms : —
(a) Pronoun of the First Person.— ma, “ I ” (mi in Malim’s
Letter) ; Genitive, ma-ge, “ from me,” “ mine ” ; Dative,
mara, “ to me ” ; ahareisi (III. 2 : 24), or aharamen (III. 2 :
6), “ we ” ; Genitive, ahareist-ge (III. 2 : 2), or aharame:6-ge
(III. 2 : 4), “ of us,” “ our ” ; Dative, aharemenna’, “ to us ”
(III. 2 : 22).
(b) Pronoun of the Second Person. — We have forms of two
kinds : tiya,* “ thou ” (III. 1 : 24), and the more respectful
kale, “thou” (III. 1 : 23 ; III. 3 : A3); Genitive, kale-ge,
“ of thee,” “ thine ” ; Dative, kaleya’, “ to thee ” (III. 2 : 26) ;
Plural, kalemen, “ you.”
In more polite speech one can unite kale -tiya. *
imba (sic) corresponds to the Sinhalese umba in imba am a,
“ thy mother ” = S. umbeammd (III. 2 : 1). Here, kala-ge
am! would be more polite, and kalegeeanu-ge ama most
polite of all.
(c) Pronoun of the Third Person. — ena, “he,” “she” (III.
2: 15) ; Genitive, ena-ge, “ of him,” “ of her,” “ his,” “ her ”
(III. 2 : 16) — S. d-ge ; Dative, Isnaya’, “ to him,” “ to her.”
Of animals, one uses eti (III. 1 : 26) ; and the same of
things (III. 1:3). Cf. also eyiti, referring to kujja, “ child ”
(III. 3 : B 3).
* I do not know how tiyaheN (III. 3 : C 7) (is to be explained.
[Abdul Hamid Dldi Effendi writes : — “ tiyahen means ‘ like that.’
tiya, ‘ that,’ is quite distinct from tiyA, * you ’ (last syllable long).
Further, kale, ‘ you,’ cannot be combined with tiya.” See supra,
page 34, note 24. — B., Ed.]
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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
For the Plural, the above-mentioned ebae-mihunt , and
for the Feminine e an hen, appear to be used, according to
Ibrahim Didi.
2. — Reflective Pronouns.
The Reflective Pronoun, also, is employed, clearly in more
modest modes of expression, in place of the Fust Person :
timan, “ I ” (III. 1:3); timanmen, “ we ” (III. 2 : 11),
where it alternates' in the same sentence with aharamen ;
Genitive, timanmen-ge, “of us,” “our” (III. 2: 11). In
Sentence III. 3 : C 6,i timannaya’, shows that timan ( = S.
tamd) is also used in Maldivian as a Reflective.
The use of the Reflective for the First Person is also found
in Sinhalese; for api, “we,” corresponds to the Prakrit appd.
See Etymologie des Singhalesischen, No. 44.
3. — Demonstrative Pronouns.
In numerous places in our Text mi ( = S. me) corresponds
to our “ this.”
In contrast, as the more- distant Demonstrative, is e — •
S. e (III. 1 : 14). This e is employed just like an Article
(III. 1 : 21).
A more respectful mode of expression, in reference to a
woman, is e-kabulege (Dative e-kabulegeya’) = S. d-ta
(III. 3 : B 6). For males, kalege * is the corresponding
honorific ; at least, one says firi-kalege, in contrast to abi-
kabulege — perhaps equivalent to “gentleman ” and “ lady.”
4. — Other Pronouns.
The Reflective Pronoun timan was mentioned above.
“The other” is ane’ : e.g., ane’ (written anen.) ambi, “the
other woman ” (III. 3 : B 5) ; ekaku-anekaku, “ the one,”
“ the other ” (employed both for Masculine and Feminine),
are used in contrast to one another.
* A still higher rank'is kalLgefAnu : e.g., in mAlimI-kalLgefAnu,
“ Captain ” (Malim’s Letter). For formation, cf. manikufAnu, “ noble¬
man,” “distinguished man”; Plural, manuku fanttme’; Dative,
manuka fanumennai (Sultan’s Missive). For more about honorifics,
see Bell, The Maidive Islands, p. 63.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies. 77
“ All ” is emme (Malim’s Letter), or emmen (III. 1 : 25) ;
cf. ituru huriha,* * “ all the rest ” (III. 3 : C 6). In emme,
doubtless, the numeral e’ (ek) is contained ; to ituru the
S. itiri is comparable. See Etymologie des Singhalesischen,
No. 170.
The Interrogative Pronoun is kon, “ which ? ”
For instance, kon-ecce, “ what ? ” literally, “ what thing ? ”
(III. 2 : 12) ; ko^-kahala, “ what kind of ? ” (III. 2:3);
kontaku±he, “ where ? ” (III. 1 : 34) ; kon-iru, “ when ? ”
(III. 2 : 27) ; kobahe, “ where ? ” (III. 2 : 1).
The -he at the end of several of these words is the
Interrogative Particle.
In conclusion, I mention the following : —
kin -he, “ what ? ” (III. 2 : 10) ; Ki-VEGEisr, “ why ? ” “ what
for ? ” (III. 1 : 27) ; and kita (or kiha), “ how many ? ”
in kita KUDESf, “ how many children ? ” (III. 1:8); and
kiha duvahun, “ in how many days ? ” (III. 2 : 28) ; cf.
KIHAVARU (III. 2 : 30).
*
* hum, or huri (both are well attested) signify chiefly “ is,”
“ exists ” (III. 2 : 4 and 7 ; Malim’s Letter).
78
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
V.— VERBS.
In Maldivian, as in Sinhalese, the Verb offers the greatest
difficulty.
The materials accessible to me allow- of no systematic re¬
presentation of verbal inflexions. Much — indeed the greater
part — still remains obscure, and to try to explain too much
would be rash, and scarcely profitable to the subject itself.
1. — Close and unmistakable agreements of the Maldivian
with the Sinhalese.
In Maldivian, as in Sinhalese, the Transitive and Intran¬
sitive (Passive) Verb-roots are different.
1. — Passive.
In hadaist, “ to make,” the Passive form is heden, “ to be
made,” “ produced,” “ cultivated ” ; eaffalo-ta’ hedeni,
“ fruits are cultivated ” (III. 2 : 3, with Note). In L.V.
(p. 70) I find govan hedeni, “ seed is cultivated,” as a
paraphrase .of “field,” “cultivated land.”
In Sinhalese hadanu and hedenu correspond. The latter
signifies, like the Maldivian heden, “ to grow ” (of plants).
Another interesting word is vetten, “ to fall ” (L.V., p. 83) :
e meva veteni (1. : -TT-) gahun, “ the fruit falls from the
tree,” * S. vetenu.
Passive, also, is fe^ bedeni, “it freezes” (L.V., p. 10),
literally, “ the water is bound,” S. bendenu. For meaning,
of. np. BASTA YAX.
belan, “ to be seen,” “ to be visible,” is the Passive of
balaN, “to see” (III. 2 : 21). With jeheist, in m6samu-vai
Jehuni, “ the monsoon has burst ” (III. 2 : 27), cf. jahan,
“ to strike ” ; kedeist, “ to be wounded ” (L.V., p. 24), with
* Ibrahim Didi gave me veteni for “ fell ” and vetuni for
“ falls ” ; but I believe that the reverse is correct.
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies. 79
KADA&, “ to strike,” “ to hew down ” {ibid., p. 104) : cf.
further, temen, “ to be moist ” (L.V., p. 139) = S. temunu ;
tibe^t, “ to be,” “ to hve ” — S. tibenu.
2. — Infinitive.
In Maldivian, as the examples given above show, the
Infinitive ends in -Aisr (perhaps written -en), more frequently
-an, -en. These forms doubtless correspond to the S. -anu,
-enu, and, like them, go back to the verbal forms in -ana of
Pali. See Geiger, Litter atur und Sprache der Singhalesen, p. 75.
Short end vowels, which are still preserved in the Sinhalese
(S. Jcapanu is derived from P. kappanau), appear, according to
the law of sound, to fall off in Maldivian.
Examples of the use of the Infinitive in our Texts are
kurant (III. 3 : C 1) = S. karanta, “in order to make” ; as
well as bahaisi (III. 3 : C 2, C 5) = S. bedanta, “ to divide,”
dependent on amru-kofeiyave, and buneppe, “ he com¬
manded,” “told.”
Tn AHAREisf maruvan vane (III. 2 : 24) = S. apa nasinta
oneya, “ we must die,” vane appears to me to have a close
correspondence, etymologically, with the S. one ; but I have
found no satisfactory derivation of the word.*
3. — Gerunds.
The formation of the Gerunds also agrees in Maldivian
and Sinhalese.
To this I add that the use of Compound Verbs (in the sense
of page 67 of my Litteratur und Sprache der Singhalesen ), in
which the preceding Verb appears in the Gerund form, is
extremely frequent in Maldivian.
* The Professor could have found it in Malayalam endurn ( 6nam ;
ene) of the Indian West Coast, corrupted from Tamil vendum.
The Maldivians have absorbed very many foreign phrases, owing
to their intercourse with India, &c. Hence such hybrids, inter alia, as
gortjnu doeeve (Sultan’s Missive, supra, page 54) = governor-turai
(English + Tamil), and g6ge sAmAn, “house-goods,” “furniture”
(Sinhalese + Tamil). — B., Ed.
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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Four types noticed. — (a) The Gerund nAbA, “ without
hearing ” (III. 3 : A 4) = S. kan-no-di, corresponds to the
first type of Sinhalese Gerunds kapd.
So, in the front rank of Compound Verbs, kakka-fim, “we
cooked” (III. 2: II). Cf. kakkani, “she cooks” (III. 2:2);
goya-ge^t, “having called” (III. 3: B 3) ; falA-gejst, “having
divided,” “ having cut up ” (III. 3 : B 3).
In nidai fime, “ I have slept ” (III. 2 : 19), and vihai
fimeve, “ I have borne ” (III. 3 : B 2), ai shows the length of
the vowels : cf. vikkai-gen, “ having sold ” (Malim’s Letter) ;
farai-gen, “ beginning ” (III. 3 : B 5) = S. patangena.
(6) The second type of Gerund (= S. benda, bandinu, “ to
bind ”) I think I find in behi-geft, “ wrecked ” (Sultan’s
Missive) = S. bahinu; and in deni -gen, “having recognized”
(III. 3 : B 6) = S. dena, dannu (from daninu).
If my idea is correct, the Maldivian form would be of
interest. It still possesses the sound of I, which on account
of the vowel modification is considered as originally present
in Sinhalese forms like benda (Geiger, loc. cii., p. 74).
(c) The third type (= S. idimi, idemenu, “to swell ”) occurs
in ehi, “ having heard ” (III. 3 : B 4) = S. asd ; which, as a
collateral form by the side of nAbA (see above), is certainly
remarkable, and presupposes a Verb ehen by the side of ahan.
For Compounds, I mention vettigen, “falling” (III.
3: A 5); ossi-dAne, “will set” (III. 1: 20): cf. ossEtf; also
tirivi-dAne, “ will set ” (III. 2: 20) : cf. tirivAisi (S. venu),
“ to become low,” “ to sink,” “ descend.”
(d) We ’also find the “Irregular” Gerunds of the Sinhalese
again in Maldivian. Thus, ko’, “ having made ” = S. kota
(III. 3 : C 2) : cf. ekko’, “ having gathered ” (III. 3 : C 3),
and in Compound Words ekkoffA (ek-ko’-fA) (III. 3 : C 2),
both = S. ekkota.
The Maldivian Adverb ko’, as in gina-ko’, “ frequent
very,” is formed like the Sinhalese kota.
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
81
Also gos (= S. gos), “ having gone ” (III. 2 : 13 ; Sultan’s
Missive), occurs, and is found in Compounds like odi-gos*
lefi (III. 2: 28), “having gone (in a ship),” and gen-gos-
fim, “ we brought ” (III. 2 : 11) = S. gendvemuva.
4. — Compound Verbs.
As regards Compound Verbs, these appear especially frequent
as Auxiliary, i.e., in the concluding part of a Compound Verb
which seems to correspond to the S. piyanu.
Thus, to the forms quoted above, like kakka-fim, “we
cooked,” &c., I add ro-kof-fim, “we kindled fire” (III. 2:
11) : also the Gerund forms di-faya’,* “ having given” (III.
3 : B 6) = S. d% ; naga-faye’, “ having taken ” (III. 3 : C 6)
= S. aragena.
Another Auxiliary Verb is daist, “to go” (= S. yanu), in
ossi-dane, “ (the sun) set,” ara-dane, “ (the sun) rose ” ; in
the Present, too, ossi-jje, “ sets” (III. 1 : 19 and 20), where
jj must have originated from dy.
Also lan (== S. lanu), “ to put,” “ place,” “lay,” is used :
e.g., mara-leyippe,! “he killed” (III. 3: C 4). As the
Sinhalese lanu gives an occasionally Causative meaning to
the Verb with which it is connected, so the Maldivian laisj, in
vettaila^, “ to fell,” does to vetten, “ to fall.”
In conclusion, I should like to note that, like the Sinhalese
gena, in Maldivian the Gerund gen very frequently is seen at
the end of a Compound Word, without perceptibly modifying
its meaning.
I mention deni-ge:n, “ having recognized ” (III. 3 : B 6) ;
farai-geist, “ having begun ” (III. 3 : B 5) ; faxa-geist, “ having
divided ” (III. 3 : B 3) ; gova-ge:n, “ having called ” (III. 3 :
B 3) ; vikkai-geis', “ having sold ” (Malim’s Letter) ; vettige^,
“ fallen down ” (III. 3 : A 5) ; behi-ge’-gos, “ wrecked ”
(Sultan’s Missive).
* Cf. -fa, in ek-kof-fA (III. 3 : C 2).
f LEYIPPE = LAIPPE ; cf. FORUVAIPpL, LAlPPEVfe, VIHAYEPPEVE
(III. 1:17; III. 3 : A 6 ; III. 2 : 16).
M
17-18
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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
2. — Tenses and Moods.
I restrict myself here to quoting the forrns as they occur
in the Text, and as I have noted them down, with occasional
explanatory remarks.
(a) Forms with a Present Significance.
Singular, First Person. — I distinguish three types in my
collection ; which, however, it is clear are very closely
connected.
(i.) With the ending -na, I noted ma vasganna, “ I kiss,”
“ smell.” Forms, of this kind must he at the foundation of
the present Sinhalese karana-vd , ganna-va (colloquial language),
if my attempt to explain it ( Litteratur und Sprache der
Singhalesen, p. 81) is correct.
(ii.) The forms in the ending -ni appear to be more frequent.
Thus, MA DANI, “ I go ” ; MA AHANI, “ I ask ” ; MA HTJNNANI,
“ I live ” ; ma hadani, “ I make ” ; ma roni, “ I weep ” ; ma
heni, “I laugh”; ma vetttjni (sic ; but cf. Note, supra),
“ I fall ” ; ma dint, “ I give ” ; also from the Text (III. 2 :
23), ma gannani, “ I take ” (? perhaps a new formation).
(iii.) Contracted forms appear with simply a nasal at the
end : ma B6isr, “ I drink ” ; ma nahan, “ I do not hear.”
Singular, Second Person. — The form agrees with the second
form of the First Person : kale hunnani, “ thou livest ” ;
tiya kurani, “ thou doest ” ; as also in the Text (III. 1 : 24),
TIYA ANNANI, “ thou COlTLest.”
From dAn, “ to go,” there is derived, according to my
Notes, the Second Person Singular de ; and from r6n, “ to
weep,” ronita ; whilst for all other Persons and Numbers the
one form roni is used.
An Interrogative form, which appears to belong here, is
kata: dannumhe, “ do you know ? ” “ do vou understand ? ”
(III. 2 : 26).
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies. 83
Singular, Third Person. — Here, too, we find the forms in -ni
most frequently 'used.
Thus, (iru) arani, “ the (sun) rises ” (III. 1 : 19) ; (kokka)
kakkani, “ (the sister) cooks ” (III. 2:2); ulani, “ (she) is ”
III. 2 : 15) = S. siti ; (meva) vettuni, “ (the fruit) falls ”
(III. 1 : 28), but perhaps it should be changed into vetten
(see supra, page 78, footnote *).
Also ena diya, “ he goes ” : with which I connect (iru)
ossi-jje, “(the sun) sets,” jj from dy, as in Sinhalese
(Geiger, loc. cit., Section 13, 2 b), the final e being added, as
is frequently the case, to mark the end of the sentence.
Plural, First Person. — From my Collections : aharamen
kani, “ we eat ” ; aharameist roni, “ we weep ” ; aharameet
dani, “ we go ” ; aharamen irinnaN, “ we sit.”
Also a form in the Text (III. 2 : 6) which is difficult to bring
into connection with the foregoing, aharamen alameve — S.
api sddamuva, “ we build.”
Plural , Second Person.— 1 noted kalemen roni, “ you
weep ” ; kalCmen irinnan, “ you sit ” ; kalemeis de,
“ you g°-”
Plural, Third Person. — From the Texts, hunnani {sic),
“they are,” “they live” (III. 2: 24); hedeni, “they are
made,” “ they grow ” (III. 2 : 3).
I myself noted roni, “ they weep ” ; trannajst, “ they sit ” ;
diya (or diyeyi), “ they go.” Also tibi, “ they are ” ; tibuhe
(Interrogative), “ do they belong ? ”
Present Tense.
We can, therefore, next give with certainty a paradigm of
the Present Tense of hadan, “to make,” in which the form
hadani is the same for all Persons of both Numbers.
There is in this, again, a close connection between the
Maldivian and popular Sinhalese, in which the one form
karanavd is also used similarly for all Persons (Present).
84
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Further, I can put together, from Ibrahim Didi’s statements,
the Present Tense of the Verb dAist, “ to go,” which apparently
is irregular : —
Singular.
(1) MA DANI.
(2) KALE Dfi.
(3) ENA DIYA.
Plural.
(1) AHARAMEIST DANI.
(2) KALEMEN DE.
(3) EBAE MIHUN DIYA (DIYEYl).
(6) Forma with a Future Significance.
Singular, First Person. — timannA fonuvAname, “ I will
send ” (III. 2 : 26) = S. evannemi ; vAneme, “ I shall be ” (III.
3 : A 3) = S. sitinnemi ; furAnemeve (or furAnemeve), “ I
shall depart” (Malim’s Letter). With the adjoined -e
concluding the sentence, I also noted ma bai kAnvA.nI:, “I
shall eat rice ” ; aharei^ hifAAtvAneye, “ I shall catch,”
which, however, has almost the meaning “ I must catch.”
Singular, Second Person. — Ibrahim Didi gives hifAnuv6,
“ thou wilt catch ” ; kale bai kAAtvAne, “ thou wilt eat rice.”
The first may, indeed, be the specific Future form
A periphrastic construction, apparently, is seen in kale
hadA^ ulani, “ thou wilt make ” (III. 2 : 12, Note).
Singular, Third Person. — There are many good examples of
this in the Text : (iru) arAnIs, “ (the sun) will rise ” (III. 1 :
19) ; eti dAe-geist-fAne, “ he (dog) will bite ” (III. 1 : 26) ; (iru)
tiri-vi-dAne, “ (the sun) will set ” (III. 2 : 20) ; (adiri)
bodu-vi-dAne, “(the darkness) will be great” (III. 2: 21).
Also, in my Notes, enA bai kAne, “ he will eat rice ” ; and
with the e at the end of the sentence, hifAneye, “ he will-
catch.”
Of Intransitive Verbs we have (iru) ossene, “ (the sun) will
set ” (III. 1 : 20) ; nu-libene, “ (the chil(jl) will not (by me)
be taken ” (III. 3 : B 5); also (magu) nu-belene, “ (the roarL
will not be seen ” (III. 2 : 21).
Extra No. — 1919. { mAldivian linguistic studies. 85
Plural, First Person. — The ending seems to be -nu or -nun.
With this aharame:n bai kAnun, “ we will eat rice,” in my
Collection agrees ; also hifAnuve, “ we will catch,” with the
-e marking the end of the sentence.
The form in the Text, aharamen arAnumh, “ we will
embark ” (III. 2 : 13), contains the Emphatic Particle -me,
which is common in Maldivian.
Plural, Second Person. — The two forms in my Collection,
kal^men bai Kane, “ you will eat rice,” and KALEMEist
hifanuve, “ you will catch,” do not seem to agree.
In the Text there is found a periphrastic form, kalemen
hadAn uluvani, “ you will do ” (III. 2 : 12) = S. urhba
karanne.
Plural, Third Person. — I have only written down the one
form ebAe Mrautf vai kAne, “ they will eat rice.”
Future Tense.
The construction of the paradigm of the Future is not free
from doubt. I give it with all reserve : —
Singular.
(1) ma hadAname.*
(2) (kale hadAnu.)
(3) enA hadAne.
Plural.
(1) api hadAnu.
(2) (kalemen hadAnu.)
(3) ebAe mihun hadAne.
(c) Forms with a Preterite Significance.
Singular, First Person. — The forms ma ehi, “ I asked ”
(III. 1:1), and ma hedi, “ I made,” show us that in the
Transitive Conjugation the structure was just the same as in
Sinhalese. The Preterite goes back to the old Past Participle
of the type patita (Geiger, loc. cit., Section 55, 2 a).
The Maldivian also shows the vowel assimilation in the
root syllable (ehi, as opposed to the present ahani ; hedi,
-me is perhaps an Emphatic Particle again.
86
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
as opposed to the present hadani), brought about by the i
of the following syllable, just as the S. ehuva and heduvd : it
is, however, somewhat more ancient, inasmuch as it has
still kept the i, whilst in Sinhalese it has been turned
into u.
The Intransitive Conjugation shows just the same type as
the S. idime-, idimunu-. To this form belongs ma deni,* “ I
gave ” (III. 1 : 4) — which, according to Ibrahim Didi’s asser¬
tion, may be also ma dini — colloquial for ma dinim, which
occurs in III. 1 : 3. Probably mi liyuni (Malim’s Letter),
ma liyuni-me, “I wrote ” (III. 1 : 23), are formed in the same
way, as Intransitive.
Of forms which deviate from the regular type, I have
noticed ma gati, “ I bought ” (like the S. gaild, from
gannu ) ; also with the ending -m instead of -i (as in Future
Plural (1), -uA occurs with -d) : ma durin, “ I saw ”
(S. duluvd) ; ma bi3fn, “ I drank ” ; ma rt5tn, “ I wept.”
Irregular, also, is ma diya-me, “ I went ” ; vejje-me,
“ I became,” in ma teduvejji-me, “ I rose ” (III. 2 : 19).
Finally, Compound forms frequently appear in the Preterite,
in which the Auxiliary Verb corresponding to the Sinhalese
piyanu is employed : ma aha -fin, “ I heard ” ; ma Hi-rnsr,
“ I laughed ” ; ma vikka fiA, “ I sold.” In the Texts, too,
MA-NIDAI-FI-ME, “ I slept ” (III. 2 \ 19) ; TIMANNA VIHAI-FI-
meve, “ I have borne (that child) ” (III. 3 : B2).
Singular, Second Person. — The form is difficult to establish.
According to kale odi-gos-lefi, “ thou hast sailed ” (III. 2 :
28), it would agree with the First and Third Persons Singular.
But the following forms were given to me : kale buimu,
“ thou drankest ” ; kale kemu, “thou atest” ; kale ritimu,
“ thou hast wept ” ; kale diyamu, “ thou wentest ” ; kale
gatita, “ thou boughtest.”
* The root dA (c/. Geiger, loc. cit., Section 53, 3) is only included in
the Intransitive Conjugation for external reasons.
Extra No.— 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies. 87
Singular , Third Person. — The forms like buni, “ he said ”
(III. 3: B3 and B 5) ; ebi, “ he asked ” (III. 3 : C 7) ; ini,
“ (she) has married ” (III. 2 : 16), are clear.
Of the Intransitive forms, we have meva vettenu (or
vettuni, cf. supra, Note), “ (the fruit) fell ” (III. 1 : 28) ;
jehuni, “ (the monsoon) burst ” (III. 2: 27).
Also Irregular : ai, “ (he) came ” (III. 1 : 22) — S. avd ; and
genai, “(he) brought” (III. 1 : 21) = S. genava.
But a new type in -ppe also appears, which can scarcely
be explained at first sight : buneppe, “ he spoke ” (III. 3 :
C 3, C 5, C 6) ; foruvaippe. “ covered ” (III. 1 : 17) ; mara-
leyippe,* “he killed ” (III. 3 : C 4).
Enlarged forms in -ppeve are clearly related to these, as in
the Future, those in First Person Singular in -ajstameve, and
Third Person Singular in -aneye, are related to those in
-aname, perhaps -ane. Such enlarged forms are aheppeve,
“ he asked ” (III. 3 : A3); laippeve, “ he laid ” (III. 3 : A 6) ;
vihayeppeve, “ (children she) has borne ” (III. 2 : 16).
In the same way forms of the first type are enlarged :
fonuva-fiyeve, “ he sent ” (III. 3 : B 6); amru kof-fiyave,
“ he commanded ” (III. 3 : C 2) ; as well as vejjeve,
“was,” “he became” (III. 2 : 14 ; III. 3 : A 2). Cf. maru-
vejjeve, “he died” (III. 3: A 5; Malim’s Letter); also
flhe forms hingi-ev£, “he went ” (III. 3 : A 4), and atu-eve,
“ he has come ” (Malim’s Letter), are to be taken into
consideration.
Periphrastic is nubune huri, “ (she) did not speak ” (III.
3 : B 4). Doubtful forms, resembling the Future rather than
the Preterite, are (iru) ara-dane ; also ossi-danIs, “ (the sun)
has risen,” also “is set” (III. 1 : 19, 20).
* From the Compound Verb mara-lan, in which lai& has a Causa¬
tive significance.
88
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Plural First Person. — The form appears to end in -m, -mu,
-mun. In the Texts aharamen eku-koffim, “ we gathered ” ;
AHARAME^-GEN GOSFIM , “ W6 brought ” ; AHARAMEN r6 KOFFIM,
“ we kindled ” ; aharamen kakkafim, “ we cooked ” (all in
III. 2 : 11).
I have recorded aharame^ buimun, “ we drank ” ;
AHARAME1ST RUIMUN, “ We Wept ” ; AHARAME^T HINGIMUN, “we
went.”
Plural, Second Person. — A single form, kalemen kolefim
(perhaps = ko’-lefim), “ you did ” (III. 2 : 10).
Plural, Third Person. — The simple form buni, “ they said,”
is attested (III. 3 : B 2). Also we have, quite analogous to
the corresponding forms of the Third Person Singular, hingi-
eve, “ they went ” (III. 3 : A 1), and atu-vejjeve, “ they
came,” or “had come” (III. 3: B 1). Cf. further, vede,
0
“they went ” (III. 3 : C 1), which probably is connected with
the S. vidinu.
All the forms told me have the final -ta added to
them. I should like to write this -ta’, and simply look upon
it as the Plural Particle spoken of above, were it not also
occasionally found in my Notes in the Singular. Such forms
are ebae mihun buita, “ they drank ” ; ebae mihun riuta,
“ they wept ” ; ebae mihun diyata, “ they went ” ; iyyega
ebae Mmutf keta bai, “ they ate rice yesterday.”
Past Tense.
The paradigm of the Preterite of ha ban, “ to make,” if we
wish to put it in tabular form, would perhaps be formed in the
following way : —
Singular.
(1) MA HEDI, Or MA HADAFIN.
(2) KALE HEDI (or ? KALE HEDIMU).
(3) ENA HEDI (or ENA HADAIPPE, Or ENA-HADEPPfi).
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
89
Plural.
(1) AHARAMEltf HEDIM (-UN), Or AHARAMEN HADAfi'm.
(2) (? KALEME2ST HAdAfIM.)
(3) EBAe MIHTT& HEDI.
Of dan, “ to go,” the following conjugation of the Preterite
was given to me : —
Singular.
(1) MA DIYAlft.
(2) KALE DIYAMU.
(3) ENA DIYA.
Plural.
(1) AHARAMElSr HINGIMUlL
(2) KALEMEN DIYAMUTA.
(3) ebAe mihun diyata.
( d ) Imperative Forms.
There are clearly two forms, (i.), (ii.), to be distinguished :
a simple one, which, as in Sinhalese (Geiger, loc. cit., Section
62, 1 a), represents merely the root of the Verb ; and a longer
one, to which the syllable hare is added, which I cannot
further explain.
(i.) di, “give” (III. 1:2); nidi, “sleep” (III. 1: 27);
had A, “ make ” (III. 2 : 21) = S. Icarapan.
In nugane (III. 2 : 25) and iiure (hure) (III. 3 : A 7)
the -e may be explained by the position at the end of the
sentence ; or is it a plural ?
(ii.) nagahare, “ take up,” “ lift ” (III. 3 : A3); nu-
talahare, “ do not strike” (III. 1 : 26) ; nu-marare, “do
not kill” (III. 3: B 5) ; dehere, “give” (III. 3: B 3) ; and
finally, in my Notes, dahare, “ go.”
(e) Conditional Forms.
A Conditional unmistakably occurs in (iiarufA) dA-
gatiyA, “ in case (a snake) bites (us) ” (III. 2 : 24) ; (mii
kalege niyAkan) viyA, “ if (this) is (your judgment) ” (III.
3 : B 5). Here also belongs mAt-kalAge russe-viyai, “ if
God wills it” (Malim’s Letter); to which the S. russanu, “to
have pleasure in,” “ to like,” is comparable.
n
17-18
90
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
The foregoing Notes on Maldivian Grammar give us, of
course, only a general and incomplete picture of the Structure
of the Language. They are a first attempt, and should be
judged as such.
He who knows the many purely external difficulties and
obstacles with which one meets in the East in researches which
lie at the foundation of work such as mine ; he who has
experienced how the best intentions and the most enthusiastic
zeal are constantly checked and crippled by a thousand petty
trifles, will judge the deficiencies of my work kindly.
Knowledge must be indulgent. It may be an easy thing
to point out and criticise this or that defect ; but of greater
worth than criticism is energetic co-operation.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
91
SECTION III.*
I.— MALDIVIAN VERBAL INFLEXIONS.
Through my Colombo friend, A. Mendis Gunasekara, Muda-
liyar, I have received a list of paradigms of Maldivian Verbs
from my helper, Sheik AH.
I publish it, in the corresponding form, all the more gladly
because the inflexions of Maldivian Verbs are extremely
remarkable ; and because my own compendia (Z.D.M.G., L.V.,
Section 383 seq.) are in many respects completed ahd improved
by the new material.
At the same time, I avail myself of the opportunity of
correcting my former statements about the personality of
Sheik Ali. He is not a Bengali, but is descended from an
Arab family which emigrated from Cairo to India. Also,
he does not follow any mercantile pursuit in the Maldives,
but filled the important position of Supreme Muhammadan
Judge there, and was a Member of the Cabinet for ten
years, f
This correction is really of importance, inasmuch as Sheik
Ali, from his position of kAzi, of course, had opportunities
of getting into far more intimate relationship with the
Maldivian people than would have been possible to a trader.
His notes, being those of a man of rank and education, carry
authority.
* See Sitzungaber. der K. Bayer , Akademie d. W., 1900, p. 641 seq. ;
Z.D.M.G., L.V., p. 371 seq. Maldivische Studien, III., Von Wilhelm
Geiger (Vorgelegt in der Philos.-Philol. Classe am 3. Mai, 1902).
f Sheik Ali ibn (son of) Sheik Abdul Kadir, died at Colombo in
January, 1907. He was fadiy.Aru, or Chief Judge, of the Maidive
Islands, when living on the Group. — B., Ed.
92
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Selected Verbs.
The Verbs selected, as examples, in the Present, Preterite,
Future, and Imperative Tenses, are:—
(a) hadan, “to make.”
(b) kan, “to eat.”
(c) balan, “ to see.”
(d) ANNAN, “to come.”
(e) dAn, “ to go.”
(/) IRINNAN, “ to Sit.” *
1. — Present.
In order to avoid misunderstanding, if possible, I have, as
a rule, inserted “now,” “at present,” Maldivian mihidu (mi
= S. Pronoun me + hidu, or hindu, “time”; really = S.
sanda). Cf. e-hidu, “ then ” — S. e-satida.
(a) hadan, “ to make,” “ prepare ” = S. hadanu : —
(1)
TIMAN
Singular.
. MIHIDU HAD ANI.
(2)
IBA
. .
. MIHIDU IIADANI.
(3)
ena ( Masculine ) . .
. MIHIDU HAD ANI.
(3)
e-kabulege {Feminine) .
. MIHIDU HADANI.
(1)
TIMANMEN .
Plural.
. MIHIDU HADAME
(2)
KALEMEN .
. MIHIDU HADAMU
(3)
E-MIHUN .
. MIHIDU HADANE.
(b) KAN,
“ to eat ” =
S. kanu : —
(1)
TIMAN
Singular.
. M. KANI.
(2)
IBA
.
. M. KANI.
(3)
ENA
.
. M. KANE.
* The following forms in ordinary colloquial use were recorded at
Male by Mr. Bell in 1879 : — -
Present : hadan!, kanI, anAm-s, dani, irinAnIs. Preterite : hadiya,
kAfi, ayi, dfya, iri(n)diya. Imperative : hadaharT, kahaee, Adk,
anahare, annare, bahi(g), baiiare, irinnawahare. Past Participle :
hadAfA, kAgin, kAfA, aisgin, aisvA, gosgxn, gosvA, iri(n)dawAfA.
— B., Ed.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
93
Plural.
(1) TIMANMEN . .
. .
M. KAMU.
(2) IBUREMEN . .
. .
M. KAMU.
(3) E-MIHUN . .
M. KANE.
balan, “ to see ” =
S. balanu
Singular.
(1) TIMaN
• .
M. BALAME.
(2) IBA
M. B ALAND
(3) ENA
Plural.
M. B ALAND
(1) TIMANMEN . .
. .
M. BALAME.
(2) IBUREMEN . .
. •
M. BALAMU.
(3) e-mis-ta’ . .
M. BALANE.
ANNAN, “ to come ”
= S. enu
Singular.
(1) TIMAN
. .
M. ANN AND
(2) IBA
. .
M. ANN ANI.
(3) :ena
Plural.
M. ANNANL
(1) TIMANMEN . .
. .
M. ANNAMUVE
(2) KALEMEN . .
. .
M. ANN AMU.
(3) e-mis-ta’ . .
M. AUDE.
DAN, “ to gO ” = S.
yanu : —
Singular .
(1) TIMAN
• •
M. DANI.
(2) IBA
. .
M. DANI.
(3) ENA
Plural.
M. DE.
(1) TIMANMEN . .
. .
M. DAME.
(2) IBAREMEN . .
. .
M. DAMUVE.
(3) E-MIHUN . .
• •
M. DEYE.
94
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
(/) irInnan, “ to sit ” = S. hitinu. The L.V. writes irinan
my helper, irinnan : —
(1) TIMAN
Singular.
M.
IRINNANI.* * * §
(2) IBA
. .
M.
IRINNANI.
(3) ENA
M.
IRINNANI.
Plural.
(1) TIMANMEN..
. .
M.
IRINNAMU.
(2) IBUREMEN..
. .
M.
IRINNAMU.
(3) E-MIHUN . .
. . . .
M.
IRIDEYE.
(1) TIMAN
(2) IBA
(3) ENA
2. — Preterite, f
Singular.
. . IYYE HADAIFIN.
. . IYYE HADA1FIMU.
. . IYYE HADAIFI.
Plural.
(1) TIMANMEN . .
(2) IBUREMEN +
(3) E-MIHUN . .
(6) Singular.
(1) T. I. KEI.
(2) I. I. KEI. §
(3) E. I. KEI.
. . IYYE HADAIFIMU.
. . IYYE HADAIFIMU.
. . IYYE HADAIFU.
Plural.
(1) T. I. KAIFIMU.
(2) I. I. KAIFIMU.
(3) E-M. I. KAIFU.
* Written irUnanI.
f The verbs hadan, kAn, balan, annan, dAn, and irinnan, with
the addition of iyye, “ yeaterday.”
| iburemen (or ibaremen) is, according to choice, interchangeable
with kalemen, just as, in the Third Person, e-m1s-ta’ alternates with
e-m1hun.
§ Sheik Ali here writes kekei ; probably from oversight.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
95
(c) Singular.
(1) T. I. BELIMU.
(2) I. I. BALAIFIMU, Or DEKEFIMU.
(3) E. I. BALAIFI, Or DEKEFI.
Plural.
(1) T. I. BALAIFIMU, Or DEKEFIMU.
(2) I* I. BALAIFIMU, 01’ DEKEFIMU.
(3) E-M. I. BALAIFU, Or DEKEFU.
(d) ' Singular.
(1) T. I. AIN.
(2) I. I. AIMU.
(3) E. I. AI.
Plural.
(1) T. I. AIMU.
(2) I. I. AIMU.
(3) E-M. I. Atf.
(e) Singular.
(1) T. I. DIYATN.
(2) I. I. DIYAIMU.
(3) E. I. DIYA.
Plural.
(1) T. I. DIYAIMU.
(2) I. I. DIYAIMU.
(3) E-M. I. DIYAIJ.
(/) Singular.
(1) T. I. ININ.
(2) I. I. INI.
(3) E. I. INI.
Plural.
(1) T. I. INIMU.
(2) I. I. INIMU.
(3) E-M. I. INtJ.
3. — Future.*
(a) Singular.
(1) TIMAN MAD AN HADAFANAN.
(2) IBA MAD AN HADANI.
(3) fiNA MADAN HADAFANE.
Plural.
(1) TIMANMEN MADAN HADAFANAMU.
(2) IBUREMEN MADAN HADAFANAMU.
(3) E-MIHUN MADAN HADAFANE.
* The same verbs in connection with mAdan, “ to-morrow.”
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Singular.
(1) T. M. KANI.
(2) I. M. KANI.
(3) E. M. KANI.
Plural.
(1) T. M. KANtJ.
(2) I. M. KANlJ.
(3) E-M. M. KANE.
Singular.
(1) T. M. BALANAN, Or DEKENAN.
(2) I. M. BALANE, Or DEKENE.
(3) E. M. BALANE, Or E. M. DEKENE.
Plural.
(1) T. M. BALANAMU, Or DEKENAMU.
(2) i. m. balAnamu, or dekenamu.
(3) E-M. M. BALANE, or DEKENE.
Singular.
(1) t. m. annAnan.
(2) i. m. annAni.
(3) E. m. annAne.
Singular .
(1) T. M. DANAN.
(2) 1. m. dAni.
(3) E. m. dAne.
Singular.
(1) T. m. irinnAnan.
(2) I. m. irinnAni.
(3) e. m. irinnAne.
Plural.
(1) T. M. ANNAnU.
(2) i. m. annAnamu.
(3) E-M. M. annAne.
Plural.
(1) T. M. dAnu.
(2) i. m. dAnamu.
(3) E-M. M. dAne.
Plural.
(1) T. M. IRINNAnABIU.
(2) i. m. irinnAnamu.
(3) e-m. m. irinnAne.
4. — Imperative.
Singular.
hadA, “ make.’'
Plural.
haddavA, “make.”
Singular.
kai, “ eat.”^
Plural.
ken ballavA, “eat.”
Extra No.— 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
97
(C)
Singular.
Plural.
balAh. “ see.”
ballava, “see.”
(d)
Singular.
Plural.
ANNARE, “ come.”
annare, “ come.”
(e)
Singular.
Plural.
DE, “ go.”
d6, “go.”
if)
Singular.
Plural.
irIde, “ sit.”
IRfNNAVA, “sit.”
5. — Compound Verb Paradigm.
I add here the paradigm of the Compound Verb vattailAn,
to cause to fall,” “ to fell,” “ to drop ” : —
Present.
Singular.
(1) T. V ATT AIL ANI .
(2) I. V ATT AIL ANI .
(3) E. V ATT AIL ANI .
Singular.
(1) T. VATTATT.f.
(2) I. VATTAILL
(3) E. VATTAILI.
Singular.
(1) t. vattatlAni.
(2) I. VATTAILANI.
(3) E. V ATT ATT. A NT.
Preterite .
Future.
Plural.
(1) T. VATTALLAMU.
(2) I. V ATT AILAMU .
(3) E-M. VATTAILAI.
Plural.
(1) T. V ATT AILIMU .
(2) I. V ATT AILIMU.
(3) E-M. VATTAILU.
Plural.
(1) T. VATTAILAnu.
(2) I. VATTAILlNlt.
(3) E-M. VATTAILANE.
Imperative.
Singular.
(2) VATTAILAH.
Plural.
(2) VATTAILAVVAH.
17-18
o
98
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
6. — Single Verbal Forms and Short Sentences.
(а) He dies : ena maruvani.
She died : e-kabulege maruvi.
He will die to-morrow : ena madan maruvani.
(б) He is eating rice now : ena miharu bat kani.
He ate rice yesterday : ena iyye bat kaiei.
He will eat rice to-morrow : ena madan bat kaifane.
(c) All men must die : emmeha mis-takun maruvan vani.
(d) Thou drinkest water now : kale mihidu fen boni.
Thou drankest water yesterday : iba iyye fen boifimu.
Thou wilt drink water to-morrow: iba madan fen
BOIFANE.
Drink water (Singular) : iba fen boi.
Drink water ( Plural ) : kalemen fen baffava.
(e) We need rice to-day: timanmennar * mi-adu bat
BENUN VEJJE.
(J) Put ( Plural ) the load down on the ground : bin-mattar *
BURABODI VATTAILAVVAH.
Put ( Singular ) the dish on the table : mezu-mattar *
B6-TARI VATT AILAH.
* Pronounced timanmenna’. Of. Z.D.M.G., L.V., p. 375; as well as
below, in “ Study of Sounds.”
99
Extba No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
I
II— MALDIVIAN LINGUISTIC SOUNDS.
[Preliminary Remarks. — By Christopher, I refer to Christo¬
pher’s Vocabulary of the Maldivian Language, Journal, R.A.S.,
1841, VI., Section 42 ; by Pyrard, I refer to Pyrard’s list of
words, elaborated by Gray, Journal, R.A.S., 1878, new series, X.,
p. 173 seq. ; by L.V., to the Vocabulary, Persian and Hindustani,
of the India Office Library, with a manuscript Maldivian trans¬
lation ; by K.V., to the Vocabulary in the Copenhagen Library.
Cf. Sitzungsber. der K. Bayer, Akademie der Wise., Cl. I., 1900,
p. 647 seq. By Geiger, I refer to my own collections ; by E.S.,
to my Etymologic des Singhalesischen, Abhdl. der K. Bayer,
Akademie der Wiss., Cl. I., Bd. XI., Part 2, p. 177 seq.~\
l
My account of the Maldivian Study of Sounds rests, I
believe, on about four hundred and thirty authenticated
comparisons. A glance at the list at once shows the close
connection between Maldivian and Sinhalese.
Maldivian Grammar offers difficulties of many kinds.
We shall be obliged to admit in it the influence of the
language of the original non -Aryan inhabitants of the Islands,
or of intercourse with foreign nations.
But for a linguistic classification of a Language, th q* Study
of Sounds is decisive.
Maldivian Word Forms.
Maldivian words now show in their form all the influences
which were fixing the character of Sinhalese down to the Tenth
Century after Christ.*
(i.) Maldivian has lost all the original double consonants,
all long vowels, and all aspirates. Double consonants and
long vowels, as in Sinhalese, are new secondary formations.
* Geiger, Litteratur und Spraehe der Singhalesen, Ind. Ordr., I.,
10, p. 40. -s
100
JOURNAL, R.A.S. .(CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
(ii.) The loss of the nasal before consonants takes place in
Maldivian as in Sinhalese ; and the process, regarded from the
point of view of dialect, has progressed further.
(iii.) The same is the case with the change of the sibilant
s into H, and the loss of the latter.
(iv.) Mutes occurring between vowels had totally disap¬
peared at the time when Maldivian branched off from its
parent language.
(v.) Palatals had also gone through their characteristic
transformation (o to s, h and J to d).
(vi.) Finally, the effects of vowel -assimilation and change
are just as recognizable as in Sinhalese.
In one word, Maldivian must have separated from Sinhalese at
a time when the latter had already, in respect of Sound, assumed
the form which it has at present. And this, as I think I have
proved, was about the year 900 A.D.
Sinhalese Word Forms.
The secondary support of a nasal by the addition of the
mute of corresponding sound doubtless belongs to the most
recent specimens of the Sinhalese language.
I am thinking of word-forms like panduru, “ present ” (E.S.,
No. 765) = P. panndkdra; barf dam, “wasp” (E.S., No. 964)
= P. bhamara*
Professor Ed. Muller justly lays stress on the fact that such
forms first occur in the Mihintale Inscription f (No. 121) ; which
belongs to the end of the Tenth Century. J
But this Sound change also belongs to the period before
Maldivian branched off.
This, at least as regards the changing of the m into mb, is
proved by the Maldivian word kaburu, “smith ” (Christopher ;
L.V., 83) = S. kamburu, P. kammara ; taburu, “ lotus flower ”
* Geiger, Litteratur und Sprache der Singhalesen, p. 48, Section 25, 5.
f Wiener Zeitschr. f. d. Kunde dee Morgenlandes, XVI., Section 79.
t Geiger, loc. cit., p. 20.
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies. 101
(L.V., 68) = S. tamburu, P. tamarasa; also by the Maldivian
maburu, “bee” (Christopher), which — with a more recent
difference of sound — resembles the S. bamburu, P. bhamara.
In all these cases the Maldivian (c/. infra about this) has
subsequently discarded the nasal altogether.
Lastly, there is another, certainly relatively recent, pheno¬
menon in the Sinhalese language, of which it may be inferred
that it preceded the branching off of Maldivian.
This is the occasional replacing of p by fhb.* We see this
in Maldivian kubu, “ mast ” (Christopher ; L.V., 86), which,
again, with the loss of the nasal, corresponds to the S. kumba,
P. kupa.
Maldivian Words from Prakrit, &c., Originals.
But it is not entirely surprising that, in spite of its later
separation from Sinhalese, Maldivian possesses words which
originate from the Prakrit foundation of Sinhalese, but are
wanting in Sinhalese itself. Also, in single words, it shows
phonetic derivation^ from the mother language, which would
lead one to decide on a different fundamental form than the
one assumed for Sinhalese.
For example, Maldivian has retained the word fuhen, “ to
ask” (L.Y., 189), which corresponds to the Prakrit pucchati.
In Sinhalese there is only the word ahanu, likewise known to
Maldivian.
Maldivian bis, “ egg ” (Christopher ; L.V., 45), corresponds
to the Sanskrit -Prakrit bija, according to special Laws of
Sound which I shall have to discuss later ; but in Sinhalese the
word is not present. Two other words, also, have no equiva¬
lent in Sinhalese : heki, “witness” (Christopher; L.y., 105),
and huvai, “oath” (L.V,,, 106; Christopher, huvAe) = P.
sakkhi, Sans, s&kshin, and P. sapatha, Sans, sapatha.
For suchvV phenomena there are different possibilities of
explanation.
* Geiger, loc. cit., p. 44, Section 20, 2 b.
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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Even if words we meet with are not present in Sinhalese
Literature, and are also unknown in the language of the
common people at the present day, the possibility of their
being used in former times is not excluded. They may have
been replaced by synonyms.
For example, in older Sinhalese it is probable that a word
puhanu, V to ask,” may have existed originally, side by side
with ahanu, but has fallen into disuse.
In other cases, under the influence of Literature and the
Grammar of the learned, the borrowed word has got the
upper hand of the true Sinhalese word.
For instance, bijaya, “egg”; sdkshi, “witness”; sapatha,
“ oath,” are now used.
But it is also conceivable that the foundation of Maldivian
is a Sinhalese dialect which does not find its expression in
the literary speech and in the social language of the present
day, but differs from the source of these, at least in small
details.
M&ldivian and Sinhalese Word- Forms.
We are also led towards this view from the circumstance that
the phonetic form of single Maldivian words points to a different
source from the form of the corresponding Sinhalese words.
Thus, for example, Maldivian firi, “ male ” (e.g., firi-
kanbali, “ bull,” L.V., 37) ; firi-kalege, “ husband ” (L.V.,
13), are doubtless more ancient and closer to the P. purisa
tjban the S. pirimi, with its enigmatical -mi.* Pyrard has the
earlier form piris.
Likewise has, “ thousand,” is the direct and regular
development from the P. sahassa ; while the S. dahas, from
its sound, clearly is related to the Numeral daha, “ ten.”
The two words tabu, “ post,” “ pillar,” and tiki, “ some¬
thing,” “ a little,” are also interesting. With their dental T
they agree with the P. thamba and thoka ; but differ from the
S. temba and tiJca.
I
* May it not possibly be a contraction from pirimi(nia), “ male
(human being) ” = Maldivian fibi-mihun ? — B., Ed.
Extba No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies. 103
In old Sinhalese there must have been equivalent forms,
dental and cerebral : the former is continued in Maldivian ;
the latter in Sinhalese words of the present day.
MAldivian us, “ sugar-cane,” compared with S. uk, points
to an earlier double form. The first corresponds to the P.
ucchu; the latter, on the contrary, to ukkhu. As is well
known, the Sanskrit ksh has, in Prakrit, in some cases turned
into cch, in others to kkh, without its being possible to make
a sharp separation between the two.
On the other hand, the S. sohon, son, hon, “ grave ” (E.S.,
No. 1,659), agrees with the P. susana ; whilst the Maldivian
MAHANU * presupposes an equivalent form, which occurs in
the P. masana.
In many cases in which Maldivian shows older forms, this
is explained by the fact that in Sinhalese the more recent
form of the word was developed in the period after the
separation of Maldivian.
As a rule, the words which in their enunciation show an
earlier vowel than the Sinhalese equivalent, can be accounted
for in this way. But, of course, the supposition is not excluded
that, in one case or the other, it may be due to radical
differences in dialect.
The first idea would only be confirmed beyond doubt, if
in a single case in old Sinhalese — perhaps from earlier in¬
scriptions — a form of word can be referred to which differs
from the present form, and agrees with the Maldivian word.
But, hitherto, I have not discovered such a case.
Vowel Sounds.
Words where the Maldivian shows a more primitive vowel
sound than the Sinhalese are, for example : —
kura-fat, “ razor ” (L.V., 85) = P. khura, but S. kara.
hus, “ empty ” = P .cuccha, but S. his.
lonu, “ salt ” — 'P. lonu, but S. lunu.
FURi, “ full ” — P. purita, but S. piri.
* The iUis striking.
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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
muri, “ hammer ” (Geiger) = P. mutthi, but S. miti.
minan, “ to measure ” = P. mindti, but S. mananu.
diri, “ cummin ” = Sans. Jim, but S. duru.
tin, “ three ” = P. tinn-an, but S. tun.
To this, also, may be added, aburan, “ to turn,” “ to wind,”
with the u vowel, contrasted with the S. ambaranu, if the
verb goes back to the Sanskrit root bhur.
In hila, “stone,” contrasted with the S. hel, we might
consider that in Prakrit the equivalent forms sela and sila
are already present.
Noteworthy, also, are some cases in which the Sinhalese
shows a change of sound, which is not caused by the following
i-sound ; whilst, on the contrary, the change of sound is
wanting in Maldivian : —
tabu, “ pillar ” = P. thambha, S. temba.
hau, “ cock ” (ha’Ij) = P. capala, S. sevul.
dau, “ net ” = P. jala, S. del.
On the other hand, in Maldivian is found dekunu, “ on
the right,” “southern ” = P. dakkhina ; whilst S. dakunu does
not show the expected change of sound. In nau, “ ship,”
but S. nev, it may again be a case of accepting double forms,
nava and navi.
In such isolated cases, in which Maldivian, in contrast to
Sinhalese, gives one an impression of greater age, the general
character of the former is, of course, not in question.
Maldivian is a relatively recent dialectic derivation of Sin¬
halese : it shares with Sinhalese all the characteristic linguistic
phenomena.
Double Consonants.
l
Double consonants are wanting, or have only arisen as
secondary formations.
Thus, vannan, “to enter,” “ go in,” has arisen, after loss of
the vowels through assimilation, from vadnan, and corresponds
to the S. vadinu (E.S., No. 1,281) = P. vajati : also vtkkan,
“ to sell,” from yiknan = S. vihunanu = P. vikkinati ;
dakkan, “ to show,” from dakvan = S. dakvanu.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldiv^an linguistic studies.
105
We have instances of a simple loss of vowels in Maldivian,
as in Sinhalese.
Examples : dannan, “ to know ” = S. dannu, from daninu, ;
gannan, “ to buy ” = S. gannu, from ganimu ; konnan,
“ to dig ” = S. kaninu.
But in these three cases, as well as in vann an, it seems to
be a case of a double Infinitive suffix in Maldivian.
It is difficult to explain annan, “ to come,” in reference
to S. enu; and hunnan, “to sit,” “stay,” “remain” = S.
indinu, liindinu.
Also in kekkula, “ strong,” “ hard ” (Geiger) — if I have
written the word correctly, and it ought not, perhaps, to
be written kekula * — as well as in kessan, “ to cough V
(Christopher; L.V., 29), the double consonant is striking;
but in no case is it ancient.
It is self-evident that double consonants may appear at
the point of junction of compound words, through assimilation.
Examples: vakkan, “theft,” from vag, “thief ” = S. vag
(“ tiger ”) + kan, “ work,” “ deed ” = S. ham ; ebbadu,
“ uterine brother,” from ek + badu, “ womb ” ; eddalu,
“ ivory,” from et, “ elephant ” + dalu, “ tooth,” &c.
Long Vowels.
Also, though long vowels are wanting in Maldivian, they
have arisen secondarily by contraction.
Maldivian continues the process, which is to be observed
in Sinhalese, in, that, more frequently than in Sinhalese, an
H between vowels is thrown out, and the hiatus removed by
contraction.
The sounding of the H in Maldivian, as is shown by other
evidence, has become thinner and slighter than in Sinhalese.
Examples of such lengthenings, due to contraction, are : —
bes, “ medicine ” = S. behet, P. bhesajja.
b£ru, “ out of doors ” = S. behera, P. bahiran.
* Abdul Hamid DIdi states : — “ The correct spelling is kekkula ;
but the word means ‘patient,’ not ‘ hard,’ ‘ strong.’ ” — B., Ed.
p 17-18
106
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
biru, “ deaf ” = S, bihiri, P. badhira.
fIru, “ file ” = S. pihiri.
miru, “ pleasant ” = S. mihiri* * * § P. madhura.
fA.ru, “ wound ” = S. pahara, P, pahara.
VARk, “ rain ” = S. vahard.
naru, “ nerve,” “ mind ” — S. nahara, P. nahara.
DfiLA, “ carpet ” = S. duhul, f P. dukula.
Contraction also occurs in fila, “ board ” = S. paliha : it
must have arisen from a fundamental form, filiha, fihila.
It is always worthy of note that where the Sinhalese shows
a double form, the Maldivian appears only to know the
further developed contracted form.
Thus, the Maldivian agrees with the Sinhalese in m6, “pestle ”
== S. mol, also mohol ; ba, “ arm ” = S. ba, P. balm ; F k, “ foot ”
(Christopher) = S. pa, pada ; filA., “ green stuff,” “ herb,” =
S. paid, P. paldsa ; has, “ thousand ” = S. das, also dahas,
P. sahassa ; MtJDU, “ ocean ” = S. mudu, also muhudu, P.
samudda ; Lh, “ blood ” = S. le, P. lohita ; uru, “ pig ” = S.
uru, P. sukara, &c. Also may be mentioned here, ne, “nose”
— S. nd ; and r£, “night” = S. re. ( Cf . E.S., Nos. 757
and 1,225.)
A double form in Maldivian is kis and kiyas, “saw”
= S. kiyat. J
Some long sounds, indeed, remain unexplained. §
Thus, for example, mahA.nu, “ grave ” (Christopher) =
Prakrit masana (already quoted above) ; bara, “ 12 ” =
S. bara ; tera, “ 13 ” = S. teles ; bari, “ night,” “ shade ” =
S. batu ; d6ni, “boat” — P. doni.
* In S. also miyuru (E.S., No.. 1,091, 2).
f In S. also diyul (E.S., No. 597).
J vAt (L.V., 20), vai (Christopher), “ left arm,” is difficult. I believe
that it is contracted from va’, “ left ” = S. vani, P. vdma {cf. na’,
L.V., 26, “ name ”), and at, ai = S. at, P. hattha.
§ Those long in utterance, arising from the dropping of a final
consonant, will be spoken of further below.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies. 107
The relationship _ of mihu, “ human being,” “ man,” to S.
minis is obscure.
Finally, in monosyllabic words, the vowel, appears to be
occasionally lengthened.
Examples : bon or b6n, “ to drink ” ; lan or lAn, “|to set,”
“ place ” ; dan or dAn, “ to go ” ; o’ or 6’, “ kernel,” “ grain.”
Nasal.
As regards the dropping of the nasal before a mute, this,
again, has gone further in Maldivian than in Sinhalese. The
nasal in Maldivian is frequently quite dropped, where it is still
retained in Sinhalese.
Nevertheless, dialectical variations seem to occur. In my
Notes, chiefly, are forms with the nasal, as I heard them
from the mouth of my helper, Ibrahim Didi ; whilst in the
printed and manuscript Vocabularies forms (of the same
words) occur without the nasal.
I have noted bangu-rA, “wine,” “arrack” (Sans, bhanga +
rasa *) : Christopher ; L.V., 55, on the contrary, has bagu-rA.
Also I have bandu, “ body ” (= S. banda, P. bhanda ) ; endu,
“ bed ” ( = S. enda) ; andiri, “ dark ” (= S. a^duru, P. andha -
kdra) ; ingili, “ finger ” (S. engili, P. anguli) ; dandi, “ staff ”
(S. dandu, P. danda) ; ungulu, “ cinnabar,” “ vermillion ”
(S. ingul, P. hinguli) ; tambu, “ post,” “ pillar ” (S. terftba,
P. thambha): whilst, on the other hand, are to be set badu,
edu, adiri, IGLLI, dadi, uguli, tabu, given by Christopher;
L.V. ; K.V.
Other words in which the nasal has fallen out are : abi,
“ woman ” (Christopher ; but Pyrard has amby) = S. ambu ;
aguru, “ charcoal ” (Christopher ; L.V., 9) = S. anguru,
P. angara ; kibu, “crocodile” (L.V., 45) = S. Tdmbul,
P. kumblnla ; kotabiri, “ coriander ” (L.V., 37) = S.
kotaiJibuvu ; kukun, “ saffron ” (L.V., 69) = P. kunkuma ;
- 1 -
* In spite of Ed. Muller’s objection ( W.Z.K.M. , XVI., 78), I hold
to the derivation of S. ra from P. rasa. An argument for it is the
equivalent Sinhalese form raha. Besides, for Maldivian the form ras
in Pyrard is direct testimony.
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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
VEDUN, “ present ” (Christopher) = S. vendum, “ reverence,”
“ adoration.”
For further comparison are noticeable : Maldivian tabfru,
“lotus flower” (L.V., 68) = S. tamburu ; maburu, “bee”
(Christopher) = S. barhburu ; kaburu, “ smith = S. ham-
bum ; as well as kubu, “mast” = S. kutfiba ( cf . above,
pages 100, 101).
Palatals.
The original palatals c (ch) and j throughout show in
Maldivian the same changes as in Sinhalese, i.e., through s,
which later becomes h, and occasionally d.*
I notice that, as regards the change of s into H, the Maldivian
continues a process in language which had already begun
before its separation from Sinhalese.
In Sinhalese, double forms frequently occur, in which, as
I have mentioned, the forms with h must, as a rule, be
regarded as the more recent. f
(i.) In Maldivian, forms with s have become extremely rare.
Almost everywhere h appears ; as much in the place of an
original sibilant as of an originally silent palatal — the H being
then, in many cases, completely dropped. Only where the
s stands at the end, is it, as in Sinhalese, always retained.
For the change of the silent palatals into h (from s), a few
examples may suffice : —
Initial. — scan, “skin,” “hide” = S. ham, sam, P. comma;
ha(n)du, “moon” = S. haqda, sanda, P. canda ; hat,
“ screen,” “ shelter ” = S. hat, sat, P. chatta.
Medial. — fahun, “later” = S. pasu, P. pacchd ; mehi,
“ flies ” = S. mesi, P. macchid ; uhulan, “ to lift up ” = S.
usulanu, P. uccdleti ; kahabu, “ turtle ” = S. kesubu, P.
kacchapa.
* Geiger, loc. cit., p. 46, Section 23. The Maldivian palatal c is as
little connected as the Sinhalese with the original palatal : like the latter,
it has rather arisen from ti. We see this from maca’, macca’, “ on,”
and mat! (S. matu), “ above ” : Geiger, loc. cit., p. 38, Section 13, 2.
f Geiger, loc. cit., p. 45, Section 21.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies. 109
Final. — The s remains : as gas, “ tree,” but gahu-fat,
“tree leaf”; as, “horse,” but ahu-kotari, “mane”; fas,
“ five,” but fahei (Geiger), pahet (Pyrard) ; us, “ sugar¬
cane ” = P. ucclm ; us, “ high ” — S. us, P. ucca.
The H arising from an original sibilant obeys just the
same laws.
We have hakuru, “ sugar ” = S. hakuru, salcuru, P.
sakkhara; hat, “seven” = S. hat, sat, P. satta, &c. Medial
fahan, “ to sew ” = S. pahanu, P. pasa, Sans, pdsa and
pdsayati, “ binds” ; diha, “ ten ” = S. daha, P. dasa, &c.
The initial H is quite dropped in ui, “thread” = S. hu ;
as is the medial h, with contraction following, in Biss,
“ medicine ” = S. behet, P. bhesajja.
An initial H arising from an original palatal is dropped in
rRLNNAN, “ to sit ” — a word in many respects obscure, but
which must be connected with S. hitinu, P. citthati.
That the H of very different origin, within the word, between
vowels, readily disappears, we may see by a comparison with
pages 105, 106. I mention here faulu, “ clear,” “ public ”
= S. pahala and pala, P. pakata, where the h fills the gap.
(ii.) As an example of the rarer change of c into D, we
have Maldivian eduru, “ teacher ” = S. eduru, P. dcariya.
(iii.) Cases of d from J are frequent.
Initial. — dau, “net” = S. del, P. jdla ; diri, “cummin”
= S. duru, P. jira ; Dtr, “ tongue ” = S. div, P. jivha.
Medial. — medu, “ middle ” = S. meda, P. majjha ; a(n)dun,
“ collyrium ” = S. andun, P. anjana ; adu, “ to-day ” = S.
ada, P. ajja.
(iv.) In two cases h has arisen from J, instead of from D,
between vowels : Maldivian rihe, “ pain ” = S. rudd (ridenu),
P. rujd; and rihi, “silver” = S. ridi, P. rajata.
Mute.
For the dropping of the simple mute between vowels, which
was completed in pre-Maldivian times, we scarcely need
special examples.
no
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Stop-gaps.
To fill a gap, as in Sinhalese, y, v, and H are employed.
That h has then regularly disappeared and a contraction
taken place, we have already seen.
(i.) Examples of Y (thus employed) occur in riyan, “ cubit ”
= S. riyan, P. ratana ; and in miyaru, “ dog-fish shark ” =
P. makara, where the Sinhalese, so far as I know, only uses
the borrowed word.
(ii.) As contrasted, we have v.
Thus : avi, “ sunshine ” (Geiger ; L.V., 2 ; K.V.) = S. avu,
P. atapa ; and huvai, “ oath ” (L.V., 106) = P. sapatha. We
may also mention here fauru (= favuru), “ wall ” = S.
pavuru , P. pakdra; as well as hau (pronounced ha’u, or,
more correctly, ha’A), “ cock ” = S. sevul, P. capula.
(iii.) In some words the Maldivian has inserted Y to prevent
hiatus, where the Sinhalese has v.
Examples : hiyalu, “ jackal,” cf. S. hival = P. sigdla ;
hiyani, “shadow” (L.V., 26), cf. S. hevan, Sevan = P.
chadana ; riyau, “ sail,” cf. S. ruval.
An i precedes the Y, because between the letter preventing
hiatus and its preceding vowel there is an unmistakable
connection.
In conclusion, it may be noticed that Maldivian, like
Sinhalese, is determined in its pronunciation not merely by
(a) the shortening of originally long sounds — of which we have
already spoken — but by ( b ) the influence of accent, and by
the two laws of (c) vowel assimilation and (d) change of sound.
Accent.
We observe the influence of Accent, as in Sinhalese,* in
the frequent qualitative alteration of the vowel of the second
syllable.
In this way the u in akuru, “ alphabet ” = S. akuru ;
dekunu, “ on the right ” = S. dakunu ; madulu, “ district ”
* Geiger, loc. cit., p. 31, Section 6.
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies. Ill
= S. madulu, &c., from P. akkhara, dakkhina, mandala ; also
i in rakis(-bodu), “ bat ” = S. rakas, rakis ; cf. P. rakkhasa.
Occasional derivations of Maldivian from Sinhalese will be
spoken of below.
Vowel Assimilation.
Also as regards vowel assimilation,* it may suffice to refer
to i(n)gili, “ finger ” — S. engili, P. anguli ; biru, “ deaf,”
through bihuru = S. bihiri, P. badhira ; lui (i.e., Ltj, “as it
is said ”) through luhu = S. luhu, P. lahu ; tunt, “ thin ”
= S. tunu, P. tanu.
Sound Change.
For change of the sound of a, corresponding to the charac¬
teristic ? of the Sinhalese, we have e, with clear utterance, in
Maldivian.
Change of sound also takes place in the formation of the
Intransitive (Passive), as in Sinhalese.
Thus : balan, “to see ” ; belen, “to be seen,” “ appear ” ;
kadan, “ to cut down ” ; keden, “ to be cut down ” (hke S.
Icadanu, kedenu).
Examples of single words, in which both languages agree,
are particularly numerous : —
den, “ afterwards,” “ thereupon ” = S. den, P. ddni.
et, “ elephant ” = S. et, P. hatthi.
fen, “ water ” = S. pen, P. pdniya.
iiEHl, “ ffies ” = S. mesi, P. macchid.
res, “ multitude ” = S. res, P. rdsi.
veli, “ sand” = S. veli, P. vdluka.
veu, “pond ” = S. vev, P. vapi.
Above, on page 104, dekunu, “on the right,” “southern,”
has been referred to, where — as contrasted with S. dakunu — the
change of sound through the i is founded on the P. dakkhina.
In the same way there are words like hau, “cock” (=
S. sevul), and tabu, “pillar” (= S. temba), in which an e
* Geiger, loo. cit., p. 34, Section 9.
112
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
in Sinhalese corresponds to a in Maldivian; but where the
Sinhalese e cannot be explained by the influence of an i.
In a few cases the Maldivian has i corresponding to the
Sinhalese e.
Thus : i(n)gili, finger,” S. engili ; and biru, “ impossible,”
which I compare with S. biri.
On the other hand, Maldivian E corresponds to Sinhalese
i in felt, “ cotton material ” = S. pili, P. pati.
Finally , like e answering to the Sinhalese e, £ is found
corresponding with i: ne(-fat), “nose” = S. vA ; and re,
“ night ” = S. rL
Thus, it is clear, Maldivian shares all the essential peculi¬
arities of Sinhalese in respect of Sound.
Other Comparisons.
In details, too, the direct dependence of Maldivian on
Sinhalese is seen.
In KiBtJ, “crocodile,” as compared with P. Jcumbhila, there
is the same arrangement of the vowels as in S. kimbul. We
have the same change of consonants in mtJdu, “ ocean ” (from
muiiudu), compared with P. samudda ; and in bilat, “ betel,”
compared with P. tambula ; S. muhudu and bulat.
The Rodiya dialect here has preserved tabala.
But the Maldivian shows, besides, certain vocal peculiarities,
which must have arisen after the separation from Sinhalese,
and determine its dialectal peculiarities.
Vowel Alterations.
The Vowels have undergone qualitative alteraticjn of many
kinds, through the effect of Sound-environment.
(i.) Thus, the vowel u frequently appears in the neighbour¬
hood of labials : cf. bunan, “ to speak,” with S. baninu, P.
bhawxti ; bulau, “ cat,” with S. balal, P. bilala ; bura,
“ difficult,” with S. bara, P. bhdra ; buma, “ eyebrows,” S.
bema, P. bhama ; funA, “ comb,” with S. pand ; also, perhaps.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
113
furu, “side,” with S. pita , P. pitthsi* Wo might, perhaps,
admit the existence of a fundamental form in tt as well as
one in i, such as we really have in the P. puillia and pitlha.
(ii.) Also, after a and k, the vowel u has developed in
many cases.
Thus, in gunan, “to reckon,” S. ganinu, P. ganeti ; gurai,
“ parrot,” S. gird ; EUR an, “ to make,” (S. karann, P. Jcaroti ;
kuli, “play,” S. keli; kultt, “saliva,” S. kela ; ktjren, suffix,
“herefrom,” S. keren ; kekuri, “cucumber,” S. kekiri, P.
kakkari.-f
(iii.) The vowel o is found in konnan, “ to dig,” “ cultivate,”
S. kaninu, P. khanati ; and in kolu, “end,” S. kela. but
P. koti, the o of which, according to the Laws of change of
sound, ought really to become e.
(iv.) On the other hand, in many cases a dental causes
the appearance of the vowel i. <
Thus, dida, “ flag,” S. dada, P. dhaja ; diha, “ ten,” S. daha,
P. dasa ; tila, “ surface,” S. and P. tala ; timA, “ self,” S.
tamd ; a(n)diri, “ dark,” “ blind,” S. anduru, P. andhakara. |
(v.) The development of the vowel o from a(e) in front of R
(= S. t) is worthy of note. It occurs in mugori, “ ichneumon,”
S. mugati.
We have the same before the final t, which then, according
to the Laws of Sound, must become mute.
Thus, in o’ (Christopher, og ; L.V., 78, on), “kernel (of
fruit) ” = S. eta, P. attlii ; and in vo’ (Christopher, vog / L.V.,
60, von), “ lamp” — S. veta.
* o after f occurs in foni, “ sweet,” S. peni. On the other hand,
cf. fi ’A, “ herbs,” “ green stuff,” S. paid, P. palusa.
f On the other hand, kilau, “ soil,” “ dirt,” S. Icalal.
% More isolated cases are honu, “ lizard,” S. hunu ; hontt,
“ lightning,” S. hena ; hukuru, “ Venus (planet),” S. Sikurd{dd),
“ Friday,” &c. In duas (= duwas), “ day,” the u is caused by V,
as in nuva, “ nine,” S. davas, nava. The preference for tj in the second
syllable, as has been observed in Sinhalese, explains Minus, “ pepper,”
S. miris ; foruvan, “ to cover,” S. poravanu. For HU, “ blue,” soo
infra.
Q
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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
In madori, “a (particular) weight,” I originally occurs;
S. madata, P. manjitthd : in this, the a of the Sinhalese has
arisen secondarily, i.e., after the Maldivian separated off.
(vi.) If Maldivian o’ is found in place of I, we have a
derivation for o’, “ wax ” (Christopher, o a ; L.V., 47, un) : it
corresponds exactly to the S. iti (E.S., No. 124).
Root Vowel Changes.
In connection with vowel change, I must mention a remark¬
able difference between Maldivian and Sinhalese in regard to
the vowel of the Root of the Noun.*
I should state, first of all, that in the scarcity of Maldivian
texts it cannot always be established, with certainty, in which
form, whether of the Root or of the Nominative, helpers have
communicated the Maldivian words.
Further, I desire to record that, in my Etymology of the
Sinhalese, I was not sufficiently consistent ; for in the Supple¬
ment to Clough's Vocabulary I put down sometimes the Root
and sometimes the Nominative of the Substantive. In my
later works, i.e., in Litteratur und Sprache der Singhalesen, I
have avoided this inaccuracy.
With regard to Maldivian, I should like to draw attention to
the fact that there is still danger for us at the present time of
falling into the same mistake, less through our own fault than
through the existing state of our knowledge. Of course, our
acquaintance with Sinhalese always gives us some guidance.
We make, then, the remarkable observation, that in very
numerous cases the end ^>f the Root is different in Maldivian
and Sinhalese, and that —
(1) Where Sinhalese has u, Maldivian has I.
(2) Where Sinhalese has i, Maldivian has u.
(3) Where Sinhalese has a, Maldivian has u.t
* As regards the formation of tho Root of the Noun in Sinhalese, of.
Geiger, loc. cit., p. 52, Section 30 seq.
f In all these cases we are dealing with a Root vowel, which has
arisen from an originally reduced (undetermined) vowel.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies. 115
I
(1) Thus, we find in Maldivian the roots: ali, “ashes”;
avi, “ sunshine ” ; bari, “ night-shade ” ; boli, “ mussel ” ;
dari, “ child ” ; eani, “ worm ” ; duni, “ bow ” ; huni,
“chalk,” “mortar”; kari, “bone”; kori, “cage”; kuni,
“ dirt ” ; madi, “ smooth rock ” ; mudi, “ ring ” ; tari,
“ star ” ; tari, “ cup,” “ dish ” ; ali, “ bright ” ; a(n)diri,
“ dark ” ; bari, “ heavy ” ; hiki, “ dry ” ; kudi, “ small ” ;
where the Sinhalese has alu, avu, batu, bolu, daru, panu, dunu,
hunu, katu, kotu, kunu, madu, mudu, tarn, tatu, alu, anduru,
bam, hilcu, kudu.
(2) Directly opposite to these are kiru, “ milk ” ; biru,
“impossible ” ; biru, “ deaf ” ; as against the Sinhalese kiri,
beri, bihiri.
(3) Finally, occur edu, “bed ”; furu, “side”; ha(n)du,
“ moon ” ; hanu, “ grinding stone ” ; ko(n)du, “ shoulder ” ;
kulu, “ saliva ” ; ladu, “ shame ” ; madu, “ boundary ” ;
madu, “ dirt ” ; magu, “ way ” ; naru, “ sinew,” “ nerve ” ;
tabu, “ pillar ” ; tudu, “ point,” “ top ” ; valu, “ hole ” ;
madu, “ slow ” ; medu, “ middle ” ; but 'in Sinhalese eyda,
pita, handa, harm, konda, kela, lada, mada, mada, maga, nahara,
terhba, tuda, vala, mada, meda.
Among these differences in vowel formation Between
Sinhalese and Maldivian there may, of course, be many cases
where, with the former, it is a case of a secondary change of
form, while the Maldivian represents the direct continuation
of the old form.
We scarcely need lay stress on the fact that, in many cases,
of course, the Root Vowel in Maldivian and Sinhalese agree.
Consonant Changes.
More far reaching in their influence are certain specific
Maldivian Laws of Sound governing the consonants.
In some few words N has come in, in place of the Sinhalese l.
One finds interchange of the two sounds in Sinhalese and in
Pali.*
* Geiger, loc. cit., p. 48, Section 25, 3.
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JOURNAL, R.A S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
In Maldivian kakuni, “crab” = S. kakulu, P. kakkataka ;
makuni, “ spider,” S. makunu and makul — P. makkata :
also vtdani, “ lightning ” = S. viduli ; whilst Sinhalese vidu
corresponds to the Maldivian vidu.
General laws are : —
(1) Change of Sinhalese p into Maldivian F.
(2) Change of Sinhalese t into Maldivian R, a sound
peculiar to Maldivian, difficult to describe.
(1) For the gradual appearance of the change of p into F
we have interesting chronological support.
Pyrard, who spent from 1602 to 1607 on the Maldives,
always, in fact, writes p for F. The change of sound is of
quite recent date.
Examples (of the change from p into f) have already been
given. I add : —
Initial. — fas, “ dust ” = S. pas, P. paiisu.
feni, “ vision ” = S. penenu, P. panhayati.
fiya, “ foot ” = S. piya, P. pada.
fi-van, “ to become rotten,” “ to stink ” = Sans.
puta, puyati.
fot, “ book ” = S. pot, P. potthaka .
fur6, “ axe ” = S. porova, poro (E.S., No. 922).
futu, “ son ” = S. put, pit, P. putta.
Medial. — kafa, “ cotton ” = S. lcapu, P. kappdsa.
hafan, “ to chew ” — S. hapanu.
ufulyan, “ to lift up ” = S. upulvanu.
ttfuran, “ to pluck out ” = S. upuranu, P. uppateti.
bafa, “ father ” (Geiger) = S. bapa.
(2) Examples of the change of t into R — Christopher writes
rh — are the following : —
ara, “ eight ” = S. ata, P. attha.
ari, “ under,” “ underneath ” = S. yati, P. hetthd.
faran, “ to begin ” = S. patan.
fijru, “ side ” = S. pita, P. pittha.
kari, “ sting,” “ prick ” = S. katu, P. kantaka.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies. 117
koran, “ to cut down ” — S. kolanu, P. Icotteti.
kori, “ cage ” = S. kotu, P. kottha.
madori, “ a weight ” = S. madata, P. manjittha.
mugori, “ ichneumon ” = S. mugati.
naran, “ to dance ” = S. natanu, P. natta.
muri, “ hammer ” = S. miti, P. mutthi.
varan, “ to turn,” “ to twist ” = S. veti.
In a few cases my authorities varied between r and r.
For example, I heard irinna, “ to sit ” ; on which account
I considered the word as related to S. hitinu : Sheik Ali writes
the word irinnAn : in L.V., 183, we have irtna.*
I have noted farui, “silk,” which I conceive to be a
compound of fara = S. pata, and ui, “thread”: the L.V.,
49, also writes it thus : but Christopher has farui. f
The regular replacing of the Sinhalese t by the Maldivian R
is very striking, both in the verb vettan, “ to fall ” ; L.V., 183,
vetten, Transitive vettAilan, “ to fell,” which appears to
be comparable to the Sinhalese vetenu (E.S., 1,404) ; as well
as in itu, “tile” = Sans, ishtaka, P. itthakd.
In conclusion, I have to make some special remarks about
the treatment of Initial and Final Letters.
Initial Letters.
In initials the media and tenuis are interchanged.
(i.) Maldivian giguni, “ bell,” and gudu, “ hump-backed,”
“ crooked,” may be compared with Sinhalese kikini and kudu.
In Christopher we find tori, “ bowl,” “ shell (of egg) ” — for
which I do not know any etymology to propose ; in L.V., 64,
there is dori.
(ii.) In ari, “below,” compared with Sinhalese yati, we
have, perhaps, the falling off of an initial Y : possibly the word
* The Mai 6 written standard requires R for irinnan, or irinnan :
thus, irInna(A) annAre (or a(a)nAr£), “ Come and sit down.”— B., Ed.
f The proper spelling of farui is (as noted by Geiger) with R, not
r: farui ferAn, “silk cloth.” — B ,,Ed.
118 JOURNAL, R.A.S (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
goes back to an original form with h which corresponds to
the Pali hettha.
(iii.) More remarkable is it that in several words there is a
change of an initial Y into D.
Such words are dagadu, “ iron ” = S. yakada ; dan,
“ watch,” as a division of time '= Sans, ydma ; dan, dan,
“ to go ” = S. yanu, P. ydti ; daturu, “journey ” = S. yaturu,
Sans, ydtra.
(iv.) In addition, I mention, too, jahan, “ to strike,” which
seems to correspond to Sinhalese gahanu, gasanu ; and where,
perhaps — I give the comparison as an isolated one, with all
reserve — turning of the initial into a palatal has taken place.
Final Letters.
For the ending qf words, the most characteristic feature of
all lies in the consonants t, k, r, and l becoming mute.
(i.) As regards t, it has, as a rule, become I, but the words
are still (in historic writing) written with a T in the L.V. ; as
well as in the few (published) texts written in the Maldivian
Alphabet ; and also by Pyrard.
Thus, the written forms are at, “ hand ” ; bat, “ rice ” ;
dat, “ tooth ” ; eat, “ leaf ” ; rat, “ red ” ; but they are
pronounced ai, bai, dai, eai, rai ; and so they stand in all
my recent Notes from verbal communications.
For gai, “ body ” (Christopher) ; goi, “ manner,” “ account ”
(Geiger) ; metj, “ pearl,” we must accept the writing gat,
got, mtjt == S. gat, got, mutu.
On the other hand, hat, “ sunshine ” (L.V., 111) = S. hat,
P. chatta, has the pronunciation hai.
Where such a t is removed to become medial it is, of
course, retained in the pronunciation ; as, for example,
ratu-l6, “red metal,” “ copper.”
(ii.) The i which occurs at the end of words Jike GUI,
“ cottage ” ; huvai, “ oath ” ; vai, “ wind ” = P. gutha, sapa-
tha, vata, is to be regarded quite differently. In these instances
— since it is a case of the simple t ( th ) of Pali, not of a double
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies. 119
consonant — the consonant must have been dropped in pre-
Maldivian times. In fact, we have in Sinhalese, too, gu,
“ cottage,” and vd, “ wind.”
The i in Maldivian is scarcely more than a sign of the
lengthening of the final vowel.
A whole series of such spellings may be recorded.
Thus : bai, “ share ” — S. ba, P. bhdga ; fai, “ leg ”
(L.V., 20; Christopher, fa) = S. pd, P. pdda ; kurubai,
“ young coconut ” (L.V., 66) = S. kurumbd ; lei, “ blood ”
= S. le, P. lohita ; rei, “night” (L.V., 9; Geiger and
Christopher, re) = S. rd, from rati ; oi, “ stream ” = S. 6,
P. sola ; ui, “ thread ” = S. hu ; lui, for Ltr, “ light,” “ easy ”
= S. luhu, P. lahu.
(iii.) After E in et, “elephant,” the t lias not become I, but
closing of the top of the throat has come in. We shall see that
the same is the case with the other consonants becoming mute.
The word et must be written e’ if we wish to record the
present pronunciation. Christopher has eg, and by his italic
capital o he only wishes to indicate the closing of the top of the
throat. Strange to say, Pyrard writes this sound as el — and
he gives it also in other words where there was certainly not an
l originally present at any time — instead of the closing of the
top of the throat of modem pronunciation.*
(iv.) Incidentally, I mention here a change of t into s,
which, indeed, is only apparent.
Examples : bes, “ medicine ” = S. behet, P. bhesajja ; kiyas,
Bis, “ saw ” = S. Jciyat.
I know no etymology for the latter word ; but in the case
of Bfis we have to deal with a d appearing at the end of a word,
and originating from J ; which probably would be used quite
differently from the t of the words compared with it above.
* Quite possibly Pyrard may have written t, which his early
Seventeenth Century publishers misprinted L. Christopher, in his
manuscript, writes G without modification, having made it clear that
G final was = the avieni sign with sukun (a), and should not be
pronounced. It was Dr. Wilson who changed G to italic G in printing
Christopher’s Vocabulary in Journal, B.A.S., 1841, VI. — B., Ed.
120
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
The likeness to bes at once gives us the etymology of the
word bis, “ egg,” which belongs to the Sanskrit bija.
K and R also become mute, and doubtless closing of the top
of the throat comes in. Historic writing has here been only
sporadically preserved.* We may, indeed, conclude from this
that the disappearance of final K and R is older than that of t.
(v.) Examples for the disappearance of k are ru’, “tree”
(Pyrard, roul) = S. rule, P. rukkha ; fuva’, “areca-nut”
(Christopher, fuvag) = S. puvak.
Here belong the numerous cases where there is a Substan¬
tive with a so-called Indefinite Article dependent on it, which
corresponds to the Numeral eka. In Sinhalese it is pro¬
nounced -ak, -ek, in Maldivian -a’, e’ ; e.g., mihe, “a man ” ;
male’, “ a flower ” ; gahe’, “a tree.” f
Instead of fuva’, quoted above, the L.V., 68, gives fuvan.
The nasal sound appears here in place of the closing of the
top of the throat ; and I notice that the nasal is always
pronounced (in this word) : the exact transcription of the
pronunciation would thus be fuvan.
Such nasal pronunciation is not unfrequently found in
Maldivian at the end of a word. Thus, for example, faiiun,
“ later,” “afterwards,” corresponds to the S. pasu.
(vi.) At the end of the Root of a Noun m becomes N.
Examples: bin, “earth”; dan (dam in Pyrard), “night
watch”; dun, “smoke”; falan, “bridge”; ban, “skin,”
“hide”; vedun, “present,” &c. = S. him, — , dum, pdlam ,
ham, vendum, &c.
(vii.) But a nasal change, alternative to the closing of the
top oi the throat, under conditions which previously have not
been fixed, appears specially often.
In the Sentences III. 2:7 (Section I., p. 36) the two Plural
forms m ida-tan and mida-ta’, “ the rats ” — spelt according
* See supra, page 98, in the examples. Sentences (e) and (/).
t But, if no longer at the end, e.g., hiyalak-A vagalak-A, “ a jackal
and a lion,” with vowel a ; also funnaka’ (Dative), “ on a heap ” ;
d6niyaka’, “ to a boat.”
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
121
to the pronunciation — stand side by side, and in general the
Plural suffix is pronounced, sometimes -ta’, sometimes -tan.
Similarly, there is variation in the suffix which means
“ towards,” in the case of the expression gata’ (Section
I., p. 43: III. 3: A 3) and gatan (loc. cit., p. 36: III. 2: 8).
Instead of mi-tan, “ to,” mi-ta’ is spoken and written thus
(loc. cit., p. 54).
Side by side with aiihun, “people,” we find mihu’ ; and -e!
by the side of -en, as, for example, saiiiben (loc. cit., p. 50).
We may, indeed, say that for pronunciation, closing of the
top of the throat and the nasal are interchangeable (in practice).
The exact circumstances under which one or the other is found
will only be understood when more extensive and exactly
noted texts are at our disposal.
(viii.) Closing of the top of the throat, or, in its place, the
nasal sound, appears instead of the R.
In this way the Maldivian Dative in -an or -a is explained ;
which, as I have stated (Section II., p. 66), corresponds with
the Sinhalese Dative in -ta. Thus, Maldivian gaha’ = S.
gahata, “to the tree ” ; vala’, “to the forest ” = S. valuta.
Just so we have closing of the top of the throat instead of
R (= Sinhalese t) in ko’ of the verb kuban, “ to make ” =
S. kota.
Roots of Nouns in r are ra’,* “ land ” = S. rata ; o’,
“ kernel,” “ seed ” — S. eta ; o’, “ camel ” = S. otu ; perhaps
also o’, “wax” (which I mentioned above) — S. iti. In
Christopher we find, again, the spelling rag, 6a, o a: in L.V.,
with the nasal, ran, ron, run, but certainly ra’ : in Pyrard,
RAL, OL.
(ix.) Finally, (as regards) the behaviour of the sound l in
Maldivian.
After A it becomes u, and has also experienced a change,
which is perhaps analogous to that of T.
* Within the word, retaining the R : e.g., rarun, “ from the land ” ;
raru-gai, “ in the land.”
R
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122
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Accordingly, we have bulatj, “ cat ” = S. balal ; dau,
“fisherman’s net” = S. del; fulau, “broad,” “wide” =
S. palal ; gau, “ stone ” = S. gal ; kilau, “ dirt,” “ clay ”
= S. kalal ; mau, “flower” = S. mal ; riyau, “sail” = S.
ruval ; vau, “ forest ” = S. ml* Also teu, “ oil ” =t S. tel.
If u or o precedes the original L, only a lengthening of
the final vowel takes place.
Thus, mu, “ root !’ = S. mul ; KAJK.fi, “ knee ” = S. kakul ;
KiBfi, “ crocodile ” = S. kimbul ; fi, “ fork ” == S. ul ; b6,
“ skull ” = S. bolu ; b6, “ thick,” “ coarse ” = S. bol ; m6,
“ pestle,” “ pounder ” = S. mohol, mol .
The correct spelling, also, should be NAGfi, “ tail,” from
nagul = S. nagul; and haij, “cock,” from ha'ul = S. sevul.
In the sohtary case known to me in which an i precedes
l, the latter is turned into u. Thus, we have Nfi, “ blue ”
— S. nil.
* Here, again, within the word l is retained ; e.g., male’, “ a flower”;
VALU-VAGXJ, “ tiger.”
APPENDICES
A. — PIONEERS IN MALDIVIAN LINGUISTIC RESEARCH.
B. — THE LEYDEN VOCABULARY.
C. — THE OLD AND MODERN MALDIVIAN ALPHABETS.
D. — MALDIVIAN LETTERS.
By H. C. P. Bell, C.C.S. (Retired).
Extea No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
125
APPENDIX A.
PIONEERS IN MALDIVIAN LINGUISTIC RESEARCH.
Professor Wilhelm Geiger’s acquaintance with the efforts
of preliminary explorers — more or less serious — in the field of
Maldivian Linguistics is, not unnaturally, incomplete, and,
to some extent, quite excusable.
But his references to Pyrard, to Christopher, and to Gray
— all three well known to him, and the chief sources of our
information prior to the learned Professor’s own masterly
“Studies” — are surprisingly inadequate, in view of their
exceptional respective merits.
It may he well, therefore, to put on record at least a brief
synoptical “ Bibliography ” of contributions to our present
knowledge of the Maldivian Language, hi justice to the
“ spade work ” done by earlier workers, however humble.
The notices of these “ pioneers ” and their labours, given
below, are curtailed as far as desirable ; it being left to those
who wish for supplementary information to follow up the
references to the original authorities.
1. — Ibn Batuta.
The famous Moroccan, Abu Abdullah Muhammad, usually
styled Ibn Batuta, “ the Traveller, par excellence, of the Arab
nation,” was at the Maldives for eighteen months, in A.D.
1313-1314.*
In his Narrative are found some forty (40) Maldivian, or
semi-Maldivian, words, somewhat disguised under Arabian
garb.
The most notable is the early mention of two words in
particular, now classed as modern “Anglo-Indian terms ” : — f
(i.) combili-mas : “ Maidive fish,” or “ the dried bonilo,
which has for ages been a staple of the Maidive Islands ”
* Gray, Ibn Batuta in the Maldives and Ceylon : translated from the
French of MM. Defremery and Sanguinetti. (Journal, C.A.S., 1882,
Extra Number, VII.)
f See Yule and Burnell, Hobson- Jobson, 1886.
126
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
(M&ldivian, kalubili-mas ; Pyrard, cobolly, or combolly,
masse ; Ibn Batuta, koulb-al-mas).
(ii.) gundara: Term applied to the Trading Boat of the
Islanders, from which is acquired their present-day Sinhalese
appellation, Gundarakdrayo (Ibn Batuta, cundurah).
2. — Francois Pyrard.
Francis Pyrard, a native of Laval, in Bas-Maine, France,
sailing for the East in 1601, as “ one of a company of French
adventurers,” was wrecked on the Maldives, July 2, 1602.
“ The crew were taken captive : a few escaped ; some were
executed ; many died from sickness.” Pyrard himself spent
five years (A.D. 1602-1607) in captivity on the Group, before
being released by an expedition of “ the King of Bengal,”
which attacked Male, and slew the Sultan.
“ By conducting himself discreetly Pyrard won, as did
Robert Knox some sixty to seventy years later in Ceylon, the
favour of his guardians, and finally of the King.”
The unique opportunity thus afforded enabled him to acquire
a sound knowledge of — or, as he puts it, “ a sufficiently large
and exact acquaintance with” — the Maldivian Language,
during his enforced sojourn at the Islands.
The result took shape, a few years after Pyrard had at
length safely returned to France in 1611, in the publication of
the Vocabulary, entitled Un Petit Dictionaire de la Langue des
Maldives ; which was printed at the end of the Third Edition
of his Voyage (2 vols., 8vo., 1619).*
This very valuable Vocabulary of the early Seventeenth
Century consists of nearly three, hundred (300) Maldivian
Words : to these should be added at least half as many again,
found scattered up and down Pyrard’s book ; making a sum
total of well-nigh five hundred (500) words and phrases.
Pyrard prefaced his Vocabulary by this short Introduc¬
tion : —
I have remarked in many places in my book on the diversity
of languages which are current throughout the East Indies.
As for the Maldives, they have a language apart, which is spoken
only in these Islands ; and the best is spoken in the Northern
Islands, more immediately under the King. For, towards the
South they speak barbarously, being further from the coast and
from traffic with other nations.
Besides the vulgar tongue, there is also the Arabic, for the
affairs of religion and the sciences, as Latin is with us ; and is
only spoken and understood by the priests and the learned.
* Hakluyt Society’s Edition of the Voyage of Francois Pyrard. See
footnote * on page 7, supra.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies. 127
I could have made a complete dictionary of the vulgar tongue,
as my long residence had given me a sufficiently large and exact
acquaintance with it ; but, not to weary my readers, I will
content myself with giving some of the principal and more neces¬
sary words, which will satisfy even the most curious. *
Pyrard’s thoughtful consideration for his “ readers ” has,
unfortunately, deprived modern students interested in Eastern
languages of a wealth of Maldivian phraseology, which would
have been of much philological value at the present day.
Elsewhere Pyrard wrote : —
There are two languages in use.
The first is that peculiar to the Maldives, which is a very
full one. In the five years and more which I spent there I had
mastered it as though it were my mother-tongue, and was quite
familiar with it.
The second is the Arabic, which is much cultivated, and is
learnt by them as Latin is with us. It is also used in their daily
prayers.
Besides these, there are other languages, such as those of
Cambaye, Guzerati, of Malalaca, and the Portuguese, which some
learn for the sake of trade, and by reason of the communication
they have with those peoples. In the Atoll of Souadou (Suvadiva),
and towards the South, they speak a language hard to understand,
rough and barbarous ; but still it is the common (Maidive)
language. *
3. — The Leyden Vocabulary.
The book containing this Vocabulary belonged to the
Bibiliotheca Leydeniana, or Library of that distinguished
scholar. Dr. John Leyden, who studied most branches of
Southern Indian, and kindred, archaeology, f
From its having subsequently found its way into the India
Office Library, London, it is styled by Professor Geiger “ The
London Vocabulary.”
* Gray, The Maidive Islands : with a Vocabulary taken from
Fran<;ois Pyrard de Laval, 1602-1607. ( Journal , R.A.S., 1878, new
series, X., pp. 181-182.)
f A. C. Burnell (South Indian Paleography, 1878, p. 49) quotes his
epitaph |at Batavia.
It runs: “Sacred to the memory of John Casper Leyden, M.D.,
who was born at Teviotdale, in Scotland, and who died in the prime of
life at Molenvliet, near Batavia, on the 29th August, 1811, two days
after the fall of Comelis.
“ The poetical talents and superior literary attainments of Dr. Leyden
rendered him an ornament of the age in which he lived. His ardent
spirit and insatiable thirst after knowledge were perhaps unequalled :
and the friends of Science must ever deplore his untimely fate. His
principles as a man werg pure and spotless ; and as a friend he was
firm and sincere. Few have passed through this life with fewer vices,
or with a greater prospect of happiness in the next.”
128
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
The full title of the book (which Geiger does not give) is : —
“ A Vocabulary, Persian and Hindoostanee [to which ‘ and
Maldivian ’ was added in manuscript, to cover the Mal¬
divian words and phrases subsequently inserted by hand].
Calcutta. Printed by Thomas Hubbard, Hindoostanee Press.
mdcccviii.” *
The period when the Maldivian words, &c., were inter¬
polated cannot have been later than the opening years of last
century.
As will be seen, Professor Geiger, throughout his “ Studies,”
sets particularly great store by this “ London Vocabulary ” —
a confidence which has to be discounted, qua the correctness of
the Maldivian words and phrases os true equivalents for their
Hindustani and Persian counterparts given in the book, by the
contra opinion of I. Ahmad Didi Effendi, a Maldivian nobleman
of exceptional intelligence and reliability, son of A. Ibrahim
Didi Effendi, Prime Minister at Male, Dorhimena-kilagefanu . *
4. — The Copenhagen Vocabulary.
Nothing very definite, or of value, is known regarding it.
From Professor Geiger we learn {supra, page 11) the bald
fact that “ a short manuscript Vocabulary of the Maldivian
Language is found in the Library of Copenhagen ” ; with the
personal note that he had, “by the kind mediation of
Professor Fausboll, received the manuscript,” and copied “its
contents.”
He adds that “ the Maldivian Writing employed in this
Vocabulary has a quite unique style.”
In regard to the extent, and probable date, of the Vocabulary,
the Professor affords no information. Here and there he
utilizes it in his “ Studies.”
The inclusion in the Manuscript of a Missive of Sultan
Muhammad Muin-ud-din (A.D. 1799-1833) may perhaps throw
its date back to the first quarter of the Nineteenth Century.
5. — James Prinsep.
To a Note on the Nautical Instruments of the Arabs, f the
world-renowned Oriental scholar, James Prinsep, added a short
Note on the Maldive Alphabet, accompanied by a lithographed
Plate (XLIX.), in which the regular eighteen consonants (some
with vowel signs added) are given, and about a drzen words.
♦For further particulars, see Appendix B.
t Journal, A.S. Bengal, 1836, V., pp. 784-794.
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies. 129
Of nine letters, or half the Alphabet, Prinsep noted that —
They are, in fact, the nine Arabic numerals, with a dash
above them to distinguish them from the ciphers ....
The system of vowel marks is partly an imitation of the Arabic
and partly of the Indian method ; the long vowels being denoted
by doubling the diacritical stroke : the nasal N is marked like
the Sanskrit anuswara, but the letter n is also inserted.
Prinsep closes with an ingenuous admission : —
I pretend to no more knowledge of the Alphabet, or Language,
than is comprehended in the Plato itself.
This doubtless accounts for his reversing the writing in the
Plate, and his startling assertion in regard to the gabuli
tAna, or Modem Maldivian Script, that “the order of writing
is from left to right, contrary to the Arabic mode ” — the truth
being just the other way.
6. — Willmott Christopher.
In 1834,* during a Marine Survey of the Maldives by the
British Government, Lieutenants W. Christopher and I. A.
Young, of the Indian Navy, wcro able to spend two or three
months on Male Island.
In that short period, and despite attacks of “ Maidive
fever,” which shortened their stay, these two observant Naval
Officers drew up a valuable Memoir on the Islands. f
In addition, Christopher compiled a very full Vocabulary of
the Maldivian Language, running to close on eleven hundred
(1,100) words.
This Vocabulary, together with a Maidive Letter in the
original (reproduced supra, pp. 49-51), with transcript and
translation, was placed in the hands of Dr. J. Wilson, in 1838,
and| appeared a year or two later in the Journal, R.A.S., 1841,
VI., pp. 42-764
Further, Christopher had supplied Dr. Wilson with —
Two facsimiles of writing in the Ancient Characters, or evIsla
akuru, not re-written, as they probably are more faithful in the
present form.
* There is some confusion as to the year — whether 1834 or 1835. The
Memoir (page 55) says the two Lieutenants landed on Male on June
4, 1834 : a footnote adds that Young had to leave on August 17,
owing to continuous fever ; and that,'“ after struggling against the fever
for some time,” Christopher himself was forced to quit “on the 9th
September, 1835.”
f See footnote * on page 8, supra.
% Journal, R.A.S., 1841, VI., pp. 42-76.
S
17-18
130
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
I also send a specimen of the sculpture of the former mode of
carving the Arabic on stone. Whether this may enable a person
to trace the time of the first visit of the Muhammadans to the
Islands, I am not aware. The stone bears date 994 of the
Hegiri.
Perhaps the Muezzin Tower (drawing) and Inscription may be
interesting. The Inscription was written round the Tower, so
that from my ignorance of Arabic I probably have not begun at
the real commencement of it. *
None of these, except the Maidive Malim’s Letter, saw the
light ; they are probably no longer in existence.
Christopher’s continuous Naval duties, culminating in a
noble death, before the walls of Multan, in 1848,f were
probably responsible for the non-fulfilment of that expressed
intention, which would have further added to the scholarly
debt he has laid all students of the Maldivian Language under,
and, in some degree, doubtless have anticipated Professor
Geiger’s “ Studies ” by half a century : —
I propose hereafter to arrange, in a tabular form, the Substan¬
tives, Adjectives, &c., and hope to give a general Introduction to
the Grammar, as time permits ; so that if any person should visit
those Islands from a philanthropic, or any other, motive, he may
have a help towards the acquisition of the Language. *
Christopher’s remarks on the transliteration, &c., of the
Maldivian Language were summarized by Dr. Wilson ; and
that summary has been partially reproduced by Gray. J
* Christopher’s Manuscript Vocabulary (now in the Ceylon A.S.
Library, Colombo).
j- In the terrible night attack of the 9th September, 1848, Christopher
received his death-wound.
“ Captain Christopher,” wrote Sir H. Edwardes (A Year on the
Punjaub Frontier), “ had, from his first arrival with the steamers at
Mooltan, shown the usual willingness of his profession to co-operate
with his brother officers on shore.
“ On the night in question he had once already conducted some
reinforcements to Colonel Pattoun’s assistance ; but the fighting at
the outposts still raged with unabated fury. Another reinforcement
came up, but had no guide. ‘ Will no one show us the way J ’ asked
the officer of the party, looking round on the tired occupants of the
trenches. ‘ I will,’ replied Christopher, and putting himself at their
head, steered them with the steadiness of a pilot through ditches and
gardens, under a roaring fire of musketry. A ball hit him in the ankle,
and shattered the joint to pieces.
“ A few weeks later (9th October, 1848) he was borne by the grateful
British officers to a rude grave, beside a well, near the village of Sooraj
Khoond, and I myself read the service over him.
“ A better or braver man fell not beneath the walls of Mooltan.”
J See footnotes J and § on page 9, supra.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
131
But to do Christopher full justice, his ipsissima verba*
should be quoted in extenso : —
MALDIVE ALPHABET ,f
The native name is akuru fili. The consonants are as under,
in the order the natives uniformly write them : —
Name.
Value.
1. HAVIENI .
. H.
The ordinary aspirate.
2. RHAVIENI .
. RH.
This cannot be represented by a single
letter. It, with the sign °, doubles the
next consonant, and has no sound when
itself a final. Its former sound was shri.
3.
NAVIENI .
. N.
This letter, with the sign ° over it, has the
sound of n in “ man,” and of the nasal
ng in “ hang.”
4.
RAVIENI .
. R.
The usual sound in “ roar.”
5.
BAVIENI .
. B.
As in “ bab.” All the vowels derive from
this, when coming before it, the sound
of to, excepting o.
6.
LAVIENI .
• P-
Reverting the tongue on the palate.
7.
KAVIENI .
. K.
As in “ kid.”
8.
AVIENI
. -
This letter takes the sound of the vowel
. affixed ; but with the sign ° over it, g.
9.
WAVIENI .
. W.
Or v.
10.
MAVIENI .
. M.
As the common one in “ moon.”
11.
F AVIENI .
. F.
As in “ fife,” interchanged at times with
the aspirate h.
12.
DAVIENI .
. D.
The dental d, as in “ dew.”
13.
TAVTENI .
. T.
The dental t. The sulcung (°) gives this
letter the short sound of i.
14.
lAmu
. L.
This letter is, in some connections, pro¬
nounced with the sound of lya, but
generally this peculiarity is unobserv¬
able.
15.
GAVIENI .
. G.
The common sound ; always hard.
16.
NAVIENI .
• N.
As lAmu (l) above, this letter sometimes
has the sound of nya.
17.
SAVIENI .
. S.
Common, with the sukung (°) as ss final
in “ lass ” ; never as s in “ has.”
18.
pAVIENI .
• P-
With the tongue reverted on the palate.
This letter constantly gives a nasal
sound to the vowel preceding it.
* See footnote * on page 130, supra.
t As the gabuli tAna and dives akuru characters appear in
the Plates, they are not reproduced here. — B., Ed.
182
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
In addition to the former, some few letters have been adopted
from other Alphabets. (They are) classed as follows : —
Persian. Arabic.
ch. As in “church.”
p. As in “prop.”
t. Reverting the tongue on the
palate.
z. As in “ zone.”
Y. As in “ year.”
j. As in “ joy.”
GH. A guttural g.
(th, dh. ) A sound between
the dentals t and d.
Some of the above are not in ordinary use, while others are
continually occurring.
The vowel-marks are as follows, and require particular atten¬
tion, as they usually govern the pronunciation of the words.
They are called fili by the natives : —
ABA FILI .
. A
(') ••
This sound is more like u in “ mud,” the
short u. It never can be sounded like a
in “mad,” “bad,” or in “can,” “man”:
it is placed over the consonant.
AbA FILI .
. A
(") •
As in “ father ” : placed oyer the letter.
EBE FILI .
. E
C) •
. Exactly the English short e in “ men,”
or French e : placed over the letter.
FILI .
. fb
(“>•■
The ai in “ main,” “ pain ” : placed over
the letter.
IBI FILI .
. i
(,) ••
The short i of “ pin ” : placed under the
letter.
f Bf FILI .
. f
(„) •
. The long sound in “ seen,” “ me ” : placed
under the letter.
OBO FILI .
. o
(’*)•..
The o in “dote.” It is never sounded
as in “dot,” “lot”: placed over the
letter.
ob6 FILI
.. 6
( fc ) •
. The long sound of o ; placed over the letter.
UBTJ FILI
. . u
(’) •
. As oo in “ food ” ; this never has the sound
of u in “ mud,” “ cud ” : placed over
the letter.
UbA FILI
. . , u
(”)•
. The same sound prolonged : placed over
the letter.
A consonant following the double (long) vowels, when final, is
scarcely heard, merely adding its softening influence to the
terminating vowel. There are only six consonants which can
terminate a syllable or word ; and they do so only when the
sukung ( °) is placed over them. None but these six are used with
the above sign °.
They sound as under : avieni, as g in “bag ” ; n, as n or ng in
“man,” “ fang ” ; N, the same as the last ; RH repeats, or doubles,
tho consonant succeeding it, giving the emphasis to the syllable
it terminates ; unless the last letter of the word, when it has no
Extea No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
133
sound, and seems totally unnecessary, except for the division
it causes between words, and (because) the natives cannot under¬
stand writing without its due insertion; s, as before mentioned,
sounds as our ss in “ pass,” “ grass,” &c. ; T only remains : it
is sounded like a very short i with the sukung above : the word
(genat, pronounced) genai offers an easy illustration.
I was a long time searching out and comparing words to discover
some uniform plan for the sound of the letters used with the
sukung (°) over them ; and at last was determined by the words in
most common use, all concurring in one method of spoiling, such
(words) as fuwag, “betel nut”; RAG, “island”; hang, “skin.”
Christopher’s Vocabulary stands to-day as the fullest and
most reliable of all published up to date.
Professor Geiger has been so unduly obsessed, in these
“Studies,” with the peculiar merits he claims to have discovered
in the “London Vocabulary” that Christopher’s — possibly
less pretentious, but at least as deserving — work has suffered
in comparison, and failed to receive at the Professor’s hands
that high commendation it so justly demanded.
7. — Simon Casie Chitty.
In the Ceylon Government Gazette of December 11, 1830, above
the signature “ Indiophilus,” appeared the following remarks.
They introduced a list of thirty-five (35) Maldivian words,
side by side with their Sinhalese and English equivalents : —
It is commonly supposed that the Islands called Maldives, or
Malayadwtpas, lying South-west of Cape Comorin, were peopled
by a colony of Sinhalese from Ceylon, probably at a very early
period, anterior to their embracing the Muhammadan religion.
The chief circumstance that seems to support this supposition
is the striking affinity between the Dfvf language spoken by the
natives of those Islands and the Sinhalese ; although the former
had received an accession of words from the Arabs and Bengalese,
with whom they have great commercial intercourse.
In November last a Maldivian boat arrived at Calpentyn ;
and having been given to understand that the Nakuda spoke
Hindoostanee with tolerable proficiency, I sent for him, and,
through the medium of an interpreter, succeeded in collecting a
number of Dfvf words, which I here exhibit, with their corre¬
sponding ones from the Sinhalese.
The writer of the above was presumably Simon Casie Chitty,
Mudaliyar, the author of that useful work (now out of print)
The Ceylon Gazetteer, 1834.
For in The Ceylon Magazine , 1840-1841 (p. 10), there was
published a very similar list of forty-two (42) comparative
words (Maldivian, Sinhalese, and English) contributed to that
Periodical by the Mudaliyar.
134
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
8. — James de Alwis.
Among the papers left unpublished by the late Honourable
Mr. James de Alwis (the editor of the erudite Sinhalese-
English version of the Sidat Sangardwa, as well as of other
valuable works) was discovered a short Note on the Maldivian
and Sinhalese Languages, accompanying a list of two hundred
and fifty (250) parallel words in English and Maldivian — taken
from Christopher’s Vocabulary — with the Sinhalese equi¬
valents of some 140.
This Note must have been written shortly before 1866, in
which year Mr. de Alwis brought out his English translation
of the Attanagalu-vansa.
The Note was obviously left unfinished. It breaks off at the
commencement of a sentence.
Note.
During one of my trips to Galle, I was peculiarly struck, on
hearing some Maldivian people speak, by the similarity which
numerous words in their tongue presented to the vernacular
Sinhalese. Curiosity thence led me to an investigation as to the
relation which the former bore to the latter ; and the following is
the result, which I have great pleasure in communicating to this
Society.
The Rev. Dr. Stevenson, of Bombay, in an Essay on the
Language of the Aboriginal Hindus, considers the Sinhalese, “ as
well as the language of the Maidive Islands,” a branch of the
Dekkan, or Southern Family, of languages.
I have already devoted a portion of the Introduction to my
forthcoming publication, entitled the Attanagalu-van.sa, to prove
the error of the Sinhalese being placed in the- Southern class, there
being imequi vocal testimony to show its relation to the Pali, or
the Northern class of languages ; and as regards the Maldivian,
all the testimony which may be deduced from the development
of that tongue goes to establish the fact of its being a dead (?)
derivative of the Sinhalese.
The following Comparative Table * of Maldivian and Sinhalese
vocabularies establishes this fact beyond all manner of doubt.
It is compiled from the materials furnished by the Vocabulary
of the Maldivian Language in the Royal Asiatic Society’s Journal,
1841, Vol. VI., pp. 46-72 ; and it proves most important facts : —
1. That nearly the whole of the Maldivian Language is
derived from the Sinhalese.
The Vocabulary from whence the above list was framed is
extensive ; and it is probable that I have overlooked many words
* Not reproduced. Mr. de Alwis was, therefore, in a humble way,
the pioneer in the field of comparison, more fully worked by Gray and
Geiger later.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies. 135
which had a Sinhalese origin, but which now bear meanings
different from those which they originally bore.
2. That Maldivian was formed some time after Sinhalese com¬
menced to draw from Sanskrit ; which was about the Twelfth
Century A.D. See my Sidat Sangardwa, pp. clxiv, clxv.
(i.) Sinhalese u is changed into Maldivian i: e.g., “lime”
(S. hunu; M. huni), “all” (S. mulu ; M. muli), “dirt” (S. kunu ;
M. kuni).
(ii.) Sinhalese p is changed into Maldivian f : e.g., “axe”
(S. poro ; M. fur6), “book” (S. pot ; M. fo(t) ).
(iii.) Sinhalese i is changed into Maldivian u: e.g., “bare”
(S. hus ; M. his), “ blue ” (S. nil ; M. Nifr).
(iv.) Sinhalese l is changed into Maldivian N : e.g., “crab”
(S. kakulu ; M. kakuni).
(v.) Sinhalese j is changed into Maldivian s: e.g., “egg”
(S. biju ; M. bis).
3. That this language is mixed with Tami]: e.g., “ladder”
(T. eni ; M. eni).
4. That the ....
9. — Louis de Zoysa.
The heirs of Louis de Zoysa similarly found, amid the
manuscript Notes of the deceased Maha Mudaliyar, a Voca¬
bulary of Maldivian Words and Sentences — 700 odd in all
— transcribed in Sinhalese writing, with meanings, entered
opposite each, also in Sinhalese.*
This rough and undigested Vocabulary was evidently
intended to be divided imder separate Headings (of which
a dozen are given) ; but other words and phrases, supple¬
menting those entered in their respective divisions, appear
in the list, quite haphazard.
The Vocabulary (which remained unrevised, and has never
been published) naturally suffered in its orthography from
the words being not recorded in the Maidive characters, but
merely taken down according to sound.
It would, however, be not wdthout some value to any one
who, wishing to acquire a knowledge of ordinary Maldivian, is
content to study it through the medium of every-day Sinhalese.
* His heirs kindly placed the collection of words, &c., at the writer’s
disposal ; and a copy was made.
Mr. Albert Gray wrote ( loc . cit., p. 176) in 1878 : —
“ No attempt can yet be made to discuss the question of Maidive
Grammar ; though, if my information is correct, Louis de Zoysa,
Mudaliyar, is collecting materials for the purpose.”
In reply to an enquiry by Mr. Bell, in 1881, the Mah& Mudaliyar
replied, May 1, 1881 : —
“ I have no notes on Maldivian Grammar. I had a collection of
Maldivian words and a few phrases, but unfortunately I have mislaid
them.” These came to light after his death. — B., Ed.
136
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
10.— Albert Gray.
In 1878 Mr. Albert Gray, late of the Ceylon Civil Service,
published in the Journal, R.A.S., new series, X., pp. 173-209,
an Article entitled : The Maidive Islands : with a Vocabulary
taken from Frangois Pyrard de Laval.
The raison d'etre for his Paper is given at the outset by
Mr. Gray : —
It was Dr. Goldschmidt’s task to investigate the history of
the Sinhalese Language back to its Indian sources, to define as
accurately as might be the influences of Sanskrit and Pali, and to
note its correspondence and kinship with the other descendants
of those ancient tongues ; and, finally, to mark its history through
the period when it was known as EJu down to the Sinhalese of
to-day.
A study of Sinhalese and of the Sinhalese Inscriptions was, of
course, the first and principal stage. But the work would not
have been complete without an examination of the dialect of
the Maidive Islands, where, as has long been known, a race of
Sinhalese origin resides, and a language of Sinhalese descent is
spoken.
It was during Dr. Goldschmidt’s first year in Ceylon, while
I was in almost daily intercourse with him, that a visit to the
Maldives was suggested, which was fated never to be performed.
On my return to England, in 1876, it struck me that the
Vocabulary which I now offer might be of some use to Dr. Gold¬
schmidt, before he could visit the Islands himself, and it was
chiefly with this view that I compiled it.
I presume that some advance in the knowledge of the Maidive
Language may be made by re-publishing the interesting Voca¬
bulary of Pyrard.
The only other Vocabulary with which I am acquainted is that
given by Lieutenant Christopher, R.N., in the Journal, R.A.S.,
VI., o.s., p. 42. Mr. Christopher was engaged under the Indian
Government in the Survey of the Atolls, and during his residence
there he seems to have obtained a considerable acquaintance
with the language.
As it will be of great importance to scholars to compare the
language of the beginning of the Seventeenth Century with that
of the Nineteenth, I have placed, side by side with Pyrard’s,
the words given (whenever given) by Christopher to express the
same idea.
I have not thought it necessary to copy the whole of Chris¬
topher’s Vocabulary, for two reasons : (a) the Journal, R.A.S.,
is accessible to all scholars ; (6) the language as given by him is
that of to-day, and any one who visits the Atolls will find living
dictionaries of more than the thousand words or so given by
Christopher. *
* See footnote * on page 135, supra.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
137
Before proceeding to give Pyrard’s Vocabulary, Gray adds
these useful hints : —
I must remind those who peruse it —
(i. ) That Pyrard was a Frenchman : the Maidive words must,
therefore, be pronounced as if they were French, in order to sound
as Pyrard intended them to sound.
(ii.) That in old French printing v is used only as an initial :
elsewhere in a word u is invariably used.
I am enabled to give, on the Plate opposite this page,* lists of
the Sinhalese and Maldivian letters in parallel columns, from
which the resemblance between the Old Maldivian and Old
Sinhalese will be apparent. The last nine of |the Old Letters have
been abandoned in favour of the first nine Arabic Numerals.
Formerly the Maldivian Language was written from left to right,
but since the supremacy of Muhammadan literature it has been
written from right to left. It will be hard to find another
historical instance of so radical a change.
Gray adopts the following convenient division, under two
heads : —
I. — Pyrard’s Maidive Vocabulary.
II. — Maidive Words and Expressions used in the course of
Pyrard’s Narrative.
Under II. the words, &c., are further grouped into —
(i. ) Atolls.
(ii. ) Islands.
(iii. ) Names and Titles.
(iv. ) Religion.
(v.) Maritime Terms.
(vi. ) Judicial Terms.
(vii. ) Botanical T^rms.
(viii. ) Diseases.
(ix. ) Social and Miscellaneous.
Gray’s Paper — as Geiger curtly admits in his all too brief
reference to it — is “ the first (published) attempt to discover
the connection between the Maldivian and Sinhalese Language ”
— a “first attempt,” in truth, but none the less of real import¬
ance as marking a very distinct step forward.
11. — A. Ibrahim Didi Effendi.
Presumably Professor Geiger intended to include, albeit
anonymously, that most courteous and obliging of gentlemen,
A. Ibrahim Didi Effendi, Dorhimena-kilagefanu, the present
T
* See Plate II. — B., Ed.
17-5
138
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Prime Minister to His Highness the Sultan of the Maldives,
in the obscure footnote of acknowledgment in his “ Studies ”
(see supra, page 11).*
The full extent of the Professor’s debt to the Prime Minister
— whom he had no compunction in “ tiring ” f by a flood
of questions lasting for “ three days ” — must be left to
supposition ; though there are manifest indications of its
value to be found in an occasional reference to “my helper
Ibrahim Didi,” “ Ibrahim Didi,” or bare “ Dldl,” in the
“ Studies.”
Be that and the Professor’s conscience as they may, it is
both just and pleasing to record the fact that very substantial
aid to a study of the Maldivian Language has been otherwise
rendered, in his own unobtrusive maimer, by the able, but
unassuming, Prime Minister to His Highness the Sultan of the
Maldives.
There was issued, in il883, an '■‘English and M didive Voca¬
bulary : a Practical Guide for His Highness the Sultan of the
Maldives, Edited by Ebrahim Dorhimena-kilagefanu. By His
Highness’ Command.”
This book, which is quarto in size, has the English Words
and Phrases printed on the outer third of the pages, leaving
space on the other two thirds for the Maldivian spelling
of the English words with their actual Maldivian equivalents,
entered in manuscript opposite, and divided into parallel
columns.
The following summary of the contents of a Vocabulary
so unique will sufficiently testify to its high aim and
value.
On the three preliminary (unnumbered) pages is given the
English “ Alphabet ” in ten varieties of type, capitals and
ordinary, with the Maidive pronunciation entered above ; the
* In this he merely writes in general terms at the commencement :
“ It is with pleasure that I avail myself of this opportunity of publicly-
thanking my active helpers”; and then proceeds incontinently to
induce undesirable and embarrassing comparison by specifically naming
one of the three.
Was it not said forcibly of a well-known “ History of Frederick the
Great ” : —
“ It would have been a graceful and proper thing to acknowledge the
help in a Preface ; but Neuberg, his generous aider, was too modest to
ask for this, and Carlyle too egoistic to think of it.” — B., Ed.
f See footnote § on page 60, supra.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies. 139
following page (also unnumbered) has “ Figures ” 1 to 100, and
one to a billion, running up in multiples of ten.
Then follows the “ Index ” of sub-heads.
This may be quoted in full, as well displaying the extent
and broadness of this most valuable Vocabulary : —
Subject.
Page
Subject.
Page
Earth
2
Tools
. . 29
Water
3
Instruments
. . 31
Continents . .
4
Habitations
32
Nations
. . 5
Furniture . .
. 33
Religions
6
Lamps
35
Trees
7
Crockery
. 36
Vegetables . .
8
Reading Room
. . 38
Fruits
8
Kitchen
. . 40
Grains
9
Bath Room . .
41
Yams
10
Stable
41
Birds
10
Household Servants
. . 42
Quadrupeds
11
Dresses
. . 43
Beasts
12
Jewellery
. . 45
Reptiles
. . 13
Minerals
46
Fishes
.. 13
Gems
46
Food
13
Points of the Compass-
. • 47
Curry Stuffs
. . 15
Places of Worship
. . 47
Beverages and Liquors . . 16
Offices
. . 48
Flowers
. . 17
Titles
. . 49
Colours
. . 17
Army
. . 51
Seasons
18
Harbour
. . 52
Time
19
Vessels
. . 53
Days of the Week
19
Custom
. . 55
Months of the Year . . 19
Pronouns
. . 61
Parts of Man
.. 20
Common Words
. . 62
Diseases
. . 23
Salutation . .
64
Relations
. . 24
Sentences . .
67
Occupations
. . 26
The whole book consists of 77 pages, with 24 lines to a page,
besides the first 7 containing the Alphabet, Figures, and Index,
^he total number of words given amounts to 1 ,600 and upwards,
in addition to 250 sentences .*
Truly an undertaking of which the esteemed Prime Minister
should have every reason to be vastly proud.
* A bound copy of this unique Vocabulary, written up in full in the
standard dialect of Male, the Capital of the Maidive Islands, was most
generously presented to the writer by the Prime Minister some years
ago. It has proved of great assistance in furthering study.
140
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXV11.
12. — Abraham Mendis Gunasekara.
In addition to very valuable aid — indispensable aid, to a
great extent — rendered to Professor Geiger by A. Mendis
Gunasekara, Mudaliyar, both as “ intermediary ” between
the German Savant and his other “ active helpers,” the
Maldivian Prime Minister and the late Sheik Ali, the 'scholarly
Mudaliyar proved himself a tower of strength in helping the
Professor in his comparative study of the two Languages, by
his translation of numerous sentences into Sinhalese, and by
suggesting the Sinhalese equivalents and derivations of Maidive
words.*
The Mudaliyar has recently supplemented his good work,
on behalf of Professor Geiger and his “ Studies,” by publishing,
in his very useful little Sinhalese- English Dictionary, 1915, a
list of Maldivian-Sinhalese words, with their English meanings.
The list runs to 407 words.
* See footnote * on. page 11, supra.
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
141
APPENDIX B.
THE LEYDEN VOCABULARY.
Certain statements made by Professor Geiger {supra,
pages 12, 13, and 15) in connection with, the above book
(which he calls the “ London Vocabulary,” owing to its
present location at the India Office Library, London) being
misleading, it is desirable to examine them.
This can best be done by the very “ searchlight ” which,
under the Professor’s manipulation, unaccountably gives a
very blurred vision of the facts, viz., that “ bundle of letters,”
received by him from Mr. C. H. Tawney, Custodian of the
India Office Library.
Fortunately, the original letters bearing on the question
(copies of which the bundle contained) are still available in
Ceylon.
They are quoted below ; and speak for themselves with
exceptional clarity. (Letters I., II., III., IV.)
Taking the learned Professor’s assertions seriatim : —
A.
Mr. Tawney was so kind as to send the book to me, and with it
a bundle of letters ; from which it appears that some years ago,
according to Mr. Bell’s wish, it had been sent to Colombo. *
Mr. Bell expressed no “ wish,” and made no application to
the India Office, at any time, for the loan of the Vocabulary.
It came to him — unfortunately too late to work on himself,
as he had left Colombo — gratuitously, from the ever -helpful
hands of Dr. R. Rost, then in charge of the Indian Office
Library ; “ at the suggestion ,” it would seem, of “ Professor E.
Kuhn, of Munich University ” (-with whom Mr. Bell was never
acquainted), after that Savant had himself had the use of the
book.f (See Letter I.)
* Mr. Tawney hatte die Giite, mir das Buch zu ubersenden und dazu
ein Konvolut von Briefen, aus denen hervorgeht, dass es vor etlichen
Jahren auf Wunsch Herrn Bell’s nach Colombo geschickt wurde.
(Geiger, Maldivische Studien I., pp. 649, 650.) .
f In a Letter, to the writer, of March 19, 1890 /the late Mr. D. W.
Ferguson quotes Professor Kuhn as stating that he had “received the
Maldivian Vocabulary from the Lidia Office Library.” — B., Ed.
142
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVli.
' B.
Ho (Mr. Bell) showed it to some native Maldivians, who were
to examine the Vocabulary ; but they came to the conclusion that
it was full of mistakes and errors, and of little or no value. *
When the Vocabulary reached Ceylon, in June, 1890, Mr.
Bell, a Member of the Ceylon Civil Service, had been already
transferred to Anuradhapura, as Archaeological Commissioner,
to start operations in the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon, of
which he finally relinquished charge in 1912.
In the interval of twenty-two years, he had neither the
spare time, nor the opportunity, of prosecuting his Maldivian
Studies.
All that he could do, he did : he sent the Vocabulary to
his generous friend, I. Ahmad Didi Effendi, elder son of the
Maldivian Prime Minister, who had, with much kindness,
aided him very greatly, from time to time, in Maldivian
matters, when attached to His Majesty’s Customs at Colombo
and Galle, in the Seventies and Eighties.
It is surely the irony of fate that the German Professor should
cast a slur on a' worthy son of a worthy father, A. Ibrahim
Didi Effendi, one of the Professor’s three “active helpers”
when in Ceylon, to whose patience and condescension the latter
owed so much in the development of his own “ Studies.”
“ Some native Maldivians ” — to whom Mr. Bell is alleged
to have shown the Vocabulary — have, in reality, like Falstaff ’s
“ rogues in bukram,” swollen from a single individual— no
ordinary “native” of the Islands, but one of the ablest of
Maldivian noblemen.
Letters II., III., IV. — as the Professor must have been aware,
from the copies filed in the “ bundle of letters ” sent to him,
though he ignores them— clearly establish the fact that the
whole burden of Ahmad Didi’s and his Himiti referee’s con¬
demnation of “ the book ” rests on this, viz., the incorrectness
of the work as a Comparative Vocabulary of the Hindustani,
Persian, and Maldivian Languages.
Professor Geiger is himself fain to make the confession :
the “ London Vocabulary is, indeed, not free from errors ;
and a considerable number of words contained in it can be
rejected at once as worthless.” f
* Bell legte es einigen eingeborenen Maldivianern vor, welche das
Vocabular prufen sollten, aber zu dem Ergebnisse kamen, dass es
voll sei von Fehlern und Irrtumern und nahezu keinen Wert besitze.
(Geiger, loc. cit., p. 651.) 1
■(■ Das Londoner Vocabular, mit dem ich mich nun auf grand der
eigenen Beobachtungen au beschaftigen habe, ist freilich nicht frei von
Irrtumern, und eine betrachtliche Zahl von Wortern scheidet fur uns
als wertlos von vornherein aus. (Geiger, loc. cit., p. 650.)
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
143
To the Professor, however, “ the mistakes ” are not clue to
“ ignorance ” — regarding which Ahmad Didi and his Persian
Pandit apparently have no shadow of clouht — but to a
“ praiseworthy, though naturally impracticable endeavour ”
— and, therefore, unprofitable and foolish — “ to give, wherever
possible, a translation for every Persian and Hindustani word.”
“ There are,” adds the Professor — a naive admission — “ in
this Vocabulary numerous words (technical terms, &c.) for
which there neither are, nor can be, found equivalents in
Maldivian.”
Be it placed, nathless, to his credit, that Hasan-bin-Adam
seems honestly, despite his “ heavy handicap ” — employing
for the nonce the expressive metaphor of the Hunting Field —
to have made a plucky attempt, “ mounted ” at times on
“ Paraphrase,” at times on “ Transliteration,” to “ take
impossible fences ” — at -which he, naturally enough, “ came a
cropper ” — thereby showing us (as the Professor considers,
with unconscious humour) that he quite “understood his
task.” *
C.
I regret to be obliged to say that the Maldivians whose aid
Mr. Bell sought, clearly did not take much pains in the matter :
perhaps .they did not possess the necessary knowledge of Persian
and Hindustani, f
The unworthy insinuation against “ the Maldivians whose
aid Mr. Bell sought ” (i.e., Ahmad Didi alone, though the
* Aber die Irrtumen erklaren sich zum TV a als blosse Schreibfehler
und entschuldigen sich damit, dass es eine durchaus feststehende
Orthographie im Maldivischen uberhaupt nicht gibt, und die Worter,
welche ich als wertlos bezeichne, fallen nicht der Unwissenheit des
Uebersetzers zur Last, sondern erklaren sich aus dem an sich ja
loblichen aber naturlich undurchfiihrbaren Bestreben, wo moglich zu
jedem Persischen und Hindustani-Wort eine Uebersetsung beizu-
schreiben.
Nun finden sich aber in dem Vocabular zahlreiche Worter, z. B.
technische Termini u. s. w., ftir die es im Maldivischen kein Aequiva-
lent gibt, noch geben kann. Da half sich denn Hassan bin Adam auf
doppelte Weise : entweder gab er statt der Uebersetzung eine erklarende
Paraphrase oder er setzte das Persische (bezw. Arabische) oder Hindu-
stani-Wort in Maldivische Buchstaben um.
Von den “ Paraphrasen,” um diesen Ausdruck der Kiirze halber zu
gebrauchen, sind iibrigens viele ganz verstandig und beweisen uns zum
mindesten, dass der Uebersetzer seine Vorlage verstand. (Geiger, loc.
cit., pp. 650, 651.)
f Ich bedauere, sagen zu miissen, dass die Maldivianer, an welche
Herr Bell sich gewendet hatte, sich die ihnen gestellte Aufgabe offenbar
nicht allzu schwer machten, vielleicht auch nicht die notigen Kenntnises
im Persischen und Hindustani besassen. (Geiger, loc. cit., p. 650.)
144
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
latter justifiably invoked the extraneous aid of a Pandit at
Himiti), as the Letters II. to IV. in the bundle must have
apprised the Professor, without possibility of misconception,
and the veiled sneer, no less at that Maidive nobleman’s know¬
ledge of Hindustani, than his travelled friend’s knowledge of
Persian, may best be left without comment.
Copies of this Special Number of the Journal of the Ceylon
Asiatic Society will, however, be sent to I. Ahmad Didi Effendi
(now an honoured Minister at Male), and to his father, A.
Ibrahim Didi, Dorhimena-kilagefanu, the Prime Minister,
“equally’ for the delight and amazement of good men” — as
the Mahdwansa quaintly puts it.
D.
At any rate they (“some native Maldivians ”) were in error
in calling in question Hasan-bin-Adam’s knowledge of their
mother-tongue. *
This is deliberately setting up the proverbial “ man of
straw ” — with the usual result.
Nowhere, and at no time, have Ahmad Didi and his Himiti
authority called in question Hasan-bin-Adam’s “ knowledge
of their mother -tongue.”
The unjustifiable charge is the more strange, in view of
Ahmad Didi’s express and voluntary declaration (see Letter
II.), that “the man seems never to have been acquainted
with any other language than Maldivian.” albeit apparently
perfunctory in his methods.
E.
It is natural that I (in Germany), so many thousand miles
away from the land of origin, was not in a position to verify all
the new words of the “London Vocabulary’’; and for this reason
especially deplore the fact that this could not be done at the
time that the “ London Vocabulary ” was in Bell's hands, and
his Maldivian helpers were there, f
* Jedenfalls thaten sie Unrecht daran, die Kenntnis der eigenen
Muttersprache bei Hassan bin Adam in Zwcifel zu ziehen. (Geiger,
loc. cit., p. 650.)
-j- Es ist aber natiirlich, dass ich, so viele tausend Meilen vom
Ursprungslande entfernt, nicht im stande war, alle neuen Worter des
LV. zu verifizieren, und aus diesen Grunde vor allem beklage ich es,
dass dies nicht geschah zu der Zeit, als das LV. in den Handen Bell’s
und seinar Maldivischen Gewahrsmanner sich befand. (Geiger, loc. cit.,
p. 652.)
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies. 145
During the time the “ Leyden Vocabulary ” was in Mr. Bell’s
hands it could not be put to direct use. He was, as stated
above, stationed then, under Government orders, at Anuradha-
pura, in the North-Central Province, an interior district of
Ceylon ; and fully occupied with Archaeological work.
To have sought to muster “ Maldivian helpers,” of all
people, to “ a pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,” amid the distant
ruins of that “Buried City” — the ancient Capital of Lanka
— would have met with success equaling that of the cynical
invitation by a certain Walrus and Carpenter to the luckless
“ Oysters,” when — “ answer came there none ! ” For —
Green Earth has her sons and her daughters.
And these have their guerdons ; but we
Are the wind’s and the sun’s and the water’s
Elect of the Sea.
F.
The book was returned by Ahmad Didi, from Male, at
the close of 1895.
It was restored by Mr. Bell to the India Office a few months
later, with a letter of frank apology — distinctly due for tho
very great delay which had ensued, and for which full personal
responsibility was, of course, accepted unreservedly.
To the apology was added expression of real regret that it
had not been found possible to turn the Vocabulary to account,
it having been “ condemned as incorrect and valueless ” in
the copies of Ahmad Didi’s Letters (II., III., IV.) annexed
to Mr. Bell’s Letter.
Some particulars regarding the Vocabulary (not given by
Professor Geiger) were jotted down by Mr. Bell in a brief Note,
before finally despatching the book to England : —
The Leyden Vocabulary.*
In the Indian Office Library is—
“A Vocabulary, Persian and Hindoostanee [to which was subse¬
quently added, in pencil, ‘ and Maldivian''']. Calcutta. Printed
by Thomas Hubbard, Hindoostanee Press, mdcccviii.”
Size, 8vo., 9f in. by 6J in. ; binding, brown leather, mottled ;
cover, plain ; back, six urn figurines between seven ornamental
bands, all gilt.
This book, now the property of the Indian Office Library,
London, belonged to the “ Bibliotheca Leydeniana ,” formed by
the learned Dr. John Leyden.
* See supra, Appendix A, pages 127-12S.
17-18
146
JOURNAL. R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
It contains 216 pages, of 18 lines (with exceptions) to the page.
Each line consists of a Persian word ; as well as (to some extent)
its Hindustani equivalent, opposite, in “ Devanagari ” character.
Beyond this is given the Maldivian version, written clearly in the
gabuli tAna, or modern Maidive, characters.
Many lacunse occur in the book.
Inside the cover, at the beginning of the hook and on the
fly-leaf, is written out, irregularly, the gabuli tAna syllabary
(vowols and consonants), starting thus : ma, mi, mI, me, mo,
ma(n), mi(n), me(n), mo(r), mE(r), m6(r), and ending with
TA, TI, Tf, TE, TO, TA(n), Tl(N), TE(n), TO(r), t£(R), t6(r).
The blank page before the Title Page bears some Persian (?)
writing, with date A. H. 1223.
On the pages of the fly-leaf at the end of the book there are
transcribed, in two separate columns, what look like archaic
variants of the gabuli tAna Alphabet — that on the first page
giving the consonants, from m tot; that on the second page the
syllables from ma to ta, with dots and dashes, headed by the
title “ The Divas Alphabet.” *
Of both these columns of antique writing, a very careful
tracing was made by Mr. D. A. L. Perera, Head Draughtsman
(now Muhandiram and Native Assistant) of the Archaeological
Survey. They have been reproduced by photography, and
appear on Plate V., 1 and 2.
ANNEXIJRES.
I.
( Letter , June 6, 1890, from Dr. R. Rost.)
India Office, Whitehall, S. \V..
June 6, 1890.
My Dear Sir,
Professor E. Kuhn, of Munich University, informs me that
you are working at Maidive. At his suggestion, I send you a
Maidive Vocabulary, which turned up in our Library some
time ago. |
As you may wish to have the use of it for some time, I enclose
the usual voucher, which I would ask you to sign and return.
H. C. P. Bell, Esq.,
Ceylon Civil Service.
Ever sincerely yours,
R. ROST.
See footnote f on page 21, supra.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
147
II.
( Letter , November 13, 1890, from I. Ahmad Didi.)
The Vocabulary has been printed in the Hijra 1223 (and the
Hijra now is 1308), or eighty-five * years ago.
A man, by name Hasan-bin-Adam, of Himiti (Nilandu Atoll),
has given the Mdldive equivalents to the Author, as he thought
right ; but I am confident that there are not ten correct in
every hundred, having some acquaintance with the Hindustani
language.
I found, to my surprise, that the Mdldive equivalents were
greatly wrong, as the man mentioned above seems never to have
been acquainted with any other language than Maidive ; and
even in the Maldivian sentences some are not completed.
I think it would be useless labour for you to take the trouble
to edit this work.
III.
[Letter, November 26, 1890, from I. Ahmad Didi.)
I have now gone through the whole Vocabulary.
Not being fully competent in Hindustani, and not knowing
Persian, I am unable to judge whether all the words are correct
or not.
I am able to judge of those which I understand, by comparing
them with Hindustani, but not with Persian.
I shall write for you the equivalents in Sinhalese of the correct
words I am able to make out.
The person who has given the Mdldive equivalents in the book
has done so through interpretation, it seems : that is why so
many of them are wrong.
IV.
[Letter, December 7, l895,fro?n I. Ahmad Didi.)
Regarding the Hindustani, Persian, and Maldivian Vocabulary,
which you handed me when I was in Ceylon, for translation either
into English or into Sinhalese.
* Lunar years. By the Christian Era reckoning, eighty-two years
(A.D. 1890-1808).— B., Ed.
148
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
When I examined the book it was found to be a Persian and
Maldivian Vocabulary. Two or three pages only contained the
translation in Hindustani ; and, therefore, it was not possible
for me (being not competent at that time in the Persian language)
to go on comparing whether the Maldivian translations were
correct or not.
When I came here, I heard about a man in Himiti, who had
for many years visited India, and had acquired a knowledge of
the Persian language. To him, therefore, I forwarded the book
for examination.
He wrote to me saying that the Maldivian translations are
mostly incorrect, and do not agree with their Persian equivalents ;
and that, it seemed to him, the work had been done by a man who
did not know the Persian language properly ; or that he might
have translated through the aid of Hindustani, even which
language lie may not have known well.
As the Himiti man says that the book is worth nothing, I have
to return it without the promised translation.
Ex^tra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
149
APPENDIX C.
THE OLD AND MODERN MALDIVIAN ALPHABETS.
In the compass of a limited Appendix, it is not possible to
cover all the ground required for a full treatment of the Old
and Modern types of the Maldivian Alphabet.
It must, therefore, suffice for the time being to offer an
outline sketch, intended to bring out at least the salient
features noticeable in the use of each, respectively.
Without question, Professor Geiger’s learned “ Maldivian
Studies ” have very materially advanced general knowledge
of the Construction and Grammar of the Maldive Language,
besides, to some degree, extending our acquaintance with its
Vocabulary ; and these are chiefly material.
But, as touching the collateral branch, its Epigraphy — both
the “dives (or divehi) akuru,” or Old, and the “gabuli
tana,” or Modern, forms of Maldive writing — the Professor,
from no fault of his own, has been unable to add appreciably
to the stock of information — in the case of the Ancient
Alphabet confessedly very imperfect — already existing.
So far as concerns the gabuli tana Alphabet, as giVen by
Christopher, of eighteen (18) Maldivian letters — or, including
the Persi-Arabic modified incorporations, twenty-six (26) in
all — with its Semitic vowel system of detached accents, &c.,
nearly all particulars have long been recorded. The influence
of the Arabic Numerals 1 to 9, or the first section of the
Alphabet, on its written character, as well as the right-to-left
mode of writing, are now-a-days well-established facts ; rightly
attributed to, the influence of the Muslim conversion of the
Islands, which took place about the middle of the Twelfth
Century.
In regard, however, to the dives akuru (literally, “ the
Island Letters ”), the pristine alphabet of “ divehi raaje,”
or “ The (Maldive) Island Kingdom ” — unless, perchance,
one of the older forms of Brahma lipi script should yet be
discovered on the Group — the case is very different.
What little is known about the dives akuru is based almost
entirely on two authorities.
These are Christopher and Young’s communications made
to the Geographical and Royal Asiatic Societies, between 1836
150
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XXVII.
and 1841, or more than three-quarters of a century ago ; and
Gray’s Paper, which was penned some five and thirty years
later, and printed in the Royal Asiatic Society Journal of 1878. *
Beyond the welcome, and pro tanto successful, effort of
Gray to show, by Tabulated Comparison (see Plate II.), the
more or less close connection between this eyela, or “ Ancient,”
Alphabet and that of Mediaeval Sinhalese lithic inscriptions,
nothing has been printed tending to elucidate the real origin
of the dives akuru Alphabet.
Writing in 1900-1902, Professor Geiger, despite his very
persistent and highly important researches into the Structure
of the Maldivian Language (conducted first at Colombo itself,
during a three months’ sojourn in Ceylon during 1895-1896,
and subsequently in Germany), has to content himself, and
his readers, with falling back wholly on (a) Christopher’s
partial syllabary of that well-nigh unknown Alphabet, and ( b )
Christopher and Young’s joint assertion regarding an alleged
special peculiarity, viz., that “ the separate letters appear in
a different form according to the vowels to which they are
joined.”
I. — “ Dives Akuru ” Alphabet.
As stated, all that has been published up to date regarding
the Old Maldivian script is contained in a short reference,
found in the Memoir compiled by Naval Lieutenants Young
and Christopher ( Transactions , Geographical Society, Bombay ),
to “ the most ancient character, called by the natives the
dewehi hakura ” ; and the valuable, but incomplete, deli¬
neation (eighteen letters only) of the Alphabet communicated
to Dr. Wilson by the latter officer ( Journal , R.A.S., 1841,
pp. 42-76).
In the above Memoir (see supra, page 20) it is said that
these characters “in all likelihood were used by the first in¬
habitants ” ; but “ the knowledge of them,” not being remem¬
bered in the Northern Atolls, was even then (1835 circa)
“ nearly lost,” though partially used for “ orders ” to the
Southern Atolls, where “the writing appears to have been re¬
tained longest ” ; that “ no old manuscripts with this character
(which is written from the left hand) are preserved ” ; and,
finally, that “ one peculiarity in the Alphabet is that some
of the consonants change their form according to the various
vowel sounds with which they are united, the construction of
the letters being altogether different.”
* (i.) Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, 1836-1838
(reprint, 1844) ; (ii.) Journal, R.A.S., 1841 ; (iii.) Id., New Series, X.,
1878.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies 151
This last-mentioned “characteristic phenomenon? of “the
Ancient Maidive Alphabet points,” according to Professor
Geiger (supra, p. 25), “ towards a writing which is very closely
related to the Asoka Alphabet.”
The above represents, then, virtually the sum total of
present-day outside acquaintance with the dives akuru.
It will be shown below, briefly, that this tantalizing dole
of information, made eighty years ago, can at this day be
considerably augmented.
Even now “ old manuscripts ” in dives akuru character
might very possibly come to light, here and there, in the
Southern Atolls, tvere these more distant groups exploited
judiciously by systematic search.
At least it is certain that the Ancient Alphabet continues
to be used, on occasions, in those Atolls; and songs, &c.,
written therein may probably yet be obtainable.*
(i.) Origin of the “ Dives Akuru” Alphabet.
The obvious affinity of the old writing — not so much with
Mediaeval Sinhalese as to the Tulu of the Malabar Districts of
Southern India, which lie opposite the Lakkadive and Maidive
Islands ; or, doubtless, even more nearly to an older Grantha
type of Tulu-Malayalam, or Ary a Eluttu, to which the divehi
akuru may well have been closely akin — strongly suggests
the former existence of a fuller list of characters, including
aspirates, f
The dives akuru Alphabet, so far as it is utilized at the
present day, has manifestly been made to fall into line with
the modern gabuli tana Alphabet, both in the current order,
as well as the limit, of its characters.
Evidence has not been forthcoming hitherto — if such exists
still on the Islands — concerning its original extent as compared
with Sanskrit and other Indian alphabets ; but it seems most
probable that it once possessed, like them, a more complete
complement of letters, embracing not only aspirated conso¬
nants, but additional sibilants also.
With the acceptance of Muhammadanism, and the adoption
of an alphabet based on a compromise with Semitic script
and mode of writing, the need for aspirated letters, and the
palatal ( s ) and — except rarely — the cerebral ( sli ) sibilants of
Indian systems vanished. The dental surd s with sonant z
sufficed usually.
* Thirty or forty years ago Mr. Bell procured a few songs, &o., from
Maldivian Islanders, both in dives akuru and gabuli tAna writing.
f Unless the dives akuru followedthe limitation of the Eiu Alphabet,
which disnensed with aspirates
152
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Hence, as will be seen by Plate VI., the dives akuru
Alphabet, as now surviving, is confined to the narrowed limits
and changed order of the gabuli tana.
(ii.) Syllabary.
There is evidence on record that Christopher must have been
acquainted with all the basal “ vowel-consonants ” (i.e., those
with inherent short a), as well as the vowel system, of the
dives akuru Alphabet ; but that, with characteristic modesty,
he confined himself in his manuscript (from which Dr. Wilson
printed) to giving only the equivalent aksharas for the first
eighteen (18) letters of the gabuli tana Alphabet.*
Inquiries pressed by the writer, when attached to H. M.
Customs at Colombo and Galle in the Seventies and Eighties,
elicited definite information that dives akuru characters exist
corresponding virtually to the entire gabuli tana Alphabet,
the only exceptions being (see Plate II.) the two so-called
“adopted” or “borrowed” Arabic letters gh, and th or dh,
sub-scribed with three dots, given by Christopher and re¬
produced by Gray.
Of what survives of the original dives akuru Alphabet,
a duplicated syllabary of consonants (with short a only ; except
H, which is shown, exempli gratia, fully inflected) and vowels
is now presented in Plates VI., VII.
The upper letters of each division exhibit the form (probably
the purest) obtained from the Southern Atolls, the lower that
of those from Male, the centre of the Group. f
From these the main characteristics of the Old Alphabet
may be fairly grasped.
The basal forms — twenty-six (26) in all, inclusive of the
sukun as a nasal — will be found illustrated on Plate VI., in
* Lieutenant Christopher met the travelled French savant. Monsieur
Antoine d’Abbadie, at Tujurrah, in 1841.
“ I never saw Christopher ; for I was blinded by ophthalmia when
he called on me. He promised to send me a copy of the Old Maidive
syllabary ; and I thanked his messenger warmly the following day,
a few hours before Christopher set sail to receive his death wound on
the Indus (1848). When I recovered my eyesight, I saw with regret
that he had sent me a list of consonants (34), vocalized only in a,
followed by a tantalizing ‘ &c.’ I boarded the Indian Navy Warship ;
but Christopher was then gone.” (Extract from a letter to Mr. Bell,
dated February 2, 1887, Basses Pyrenees.)
The letters in Christopher’s list, as copied by Monsieur d’Abbadie,
show 18 with short A, and 16 with either long A or short I.
•j- The letters as written in the Southern Group were given by
Ahmad Didi, of Fua Mulaku Island ; the others were kindly supplied
by Ibr&him Didi Efiendi, Dorhimena-kilagefanu (now Prime Minister),
from Mali.
Extra No.— 1919-1 mAldivian linguistic studies. ' 153
which (a) the letters (“ vowel-consonants ”) commencing with
h (according to modem usage) and ending with Y, and the
sukun, are set out ; besides ( b ) some variants.*
These are supplemented in Plate VII. by (c) the five initial
vowels, short and long ; their (d) medial signs ; together with
(e) the consonant H (the first of the Alphabet), as modified
by all its vowel inflexions ; and (/) a few compound letters.
Finally, (g) specimens of tho writing are added.
(iii.) Consonants.
The inflected forms of h, as shown in Plate VII., definitely
explode the long-standing “ myth,” viz., that “ the separate
letters appear in a different form according to the vowel to
which they are joined ” ; except in so far, and only in so far,
as the addition of vowel signs necessarily modifies the outlines
of the consonants affected, as in Sanskrit, Sinhalese, &c.
Ex uno disce omnes. Some consonants may assume a
variant shape (see Plate VI.) ; but, whatever the shape
adopted, the addition of vowels, or the sukun, in no way affects
them, beyond the inevitable modification resulting from the
attachment of the vowels, &c.
A radical difference between the Old type of character
and the New lies in the dives akuru base-consonants being,
as stated above, like those of Sanskrit, Sinhalese, and other
Indian cognate alphabets, actually “ vowel-consonants ” (i.e.,
each contains the short vowel a) ; whilst the gabuli tana
letters are pttre consonantal signs, quite vowel-less until
vivified by the super-script, or sub-script, accents common to
Persian, Arabic, &c.
The only indication of aspirates (h excepted) and extra
sibilants once forming part of Maldivian script is furnished
by the occurrence in both Alphabets of aksharas for p and f
(the simple breath-sound of the aspirated digraph ph), and
the occasional employment of sha in gabuli tAna.
* No uniformity has ruled so far for the order of the “ adopted,” or
“ borrowed,” consonants of the Modern Maidive Alphabet as contrasted
with the first eighteen letters. These should start with h and end with
p correctly; though the latter half (m to d) has been sometimes (as by
Gray) transposed with the first half, making the last letter v.
Christopher (reproduced by Gray ; see Plate II. ) gives (from Persian)
c, p, t, (from Arabic) z, y, j, gh, th (or dh) ; omitting ih Geiger
(adopting — for these nine only — the order of the pseudo- gabuli tAna in
the “ Leyden Vocabulary ”) prints (Plate I.) Y, z, c, j, t, n, p, Greek y
for gh, and T underlined for th (or dh). In Plate VI. the order of the
first seven (as copied from the dives akuru manuscript alphabets
obtained by Mr. Bell) runs n, t, c, y, z, j, p ; but definite authority i9
not claimed for this obviously unsystematic jumble.
X
17-18
154
•JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
(iv.) Vowels and Vowel Signs.
The Old Maldivian Vowel-sign variations (the natural
sequences of the markedly divergent forms of the Initial
Vowels, as written in the Southern Atolls and At Male) are well
exhibited in Plate VII.
The distinctive shapes of the Southern-type vowels have
manifestly given place elsewhere to a vowel system based
on the a consonantal sign (the gabuli tana a), adapted so
as to form the other vowels by the addition of the several
inflexions.*
Abnormal, and even contradictory, usages seem prevalent.
These vagaries are doubtless due to the want existing of a
recognized standard in a very elongated series of Atolls,
which stretch for over four hundred miles from North to
South.
The Eight Vowels.
Initial and Medial forms are employed for both the short and
long Vowels A, a, i, 1, u, tJ, e, e, o, 6, in accordance with
the Sanskrit canon ; but not for the diphthongs ai, au, which,
seemingly, have to be formed by the respective conjunct
vowels.
a, 1.
The short a, as stated, is inherent in the consonant ; the
sign for long A is written separately, and, like the Sinhalese
elapilla, to right of the letter.
i, f.
The invariable broad rule followed in Devanagiri and
similar Indian scripts, of using the superscript medial signs
for i, 1, meets with unlooked-for exception in the case of the
dives akurtt Alphabet.
As will be seen (Plate VII.), these signs differ only from that
for long a in that, whilst the latter is detached, i, f should be
united to the consonant (in the case of long i with a slight kink
at start), and carried below it partially, or, in cursive script, fully
round, to the left, after the manner of the Sinhalese uttara
raka^rdigsaya (peculiar r sign) in <§, sri, and Old Maidive sri.
A not-improbable explanation of this anomaly may be that
the Maldivians adopted Medial signs of the rare ri, ri vowel
signs (which are written beloW the consonant in several old
Indian alphabets) in lieu of those for I, i.f
* See the lower line of Vowels on Plate VII.
f See Burnell, South Indian Palaeography, 1878 ; Faulmann, Dag
Buch der Schrijt, 1880 ; Holle, Tabel van Oud-en-Niew Indishe Alpha-
betten, 1882.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies. 155
u, tJ.*
These signs are usually attached to the consonants below in
accordance with thaf form (hook to right) of the papilla used
with certain Sinhalese consonants ; but the alternative adoption
for short u of a superscript form appears to be allowable for
several, if not all, letters.
e, fi.
The Sinhalese practice rules nearly. The vowel-consonant
with short A, following a small circle, serves for short e ;
and for long e a similar double circle looped : these being
the substitutes for the Sinhalese kombuwa and its manner of
employment.
o, 6.
Here the usage is apparently irregular. The kombuwa
symbol is followed by the consonant inflected with either
i or u vowel signs ; j whereas the Sinhalese and Indian
fixed rule is to employ the consonant witli short a and long
d respectively.
SUKUN.
The wavy semi-diagonal symbol (possibly an evolution of
the two kinds of Sinhalese al mark rolled into one) employed
for the sukun of the dives akuru — as distinct from the small
open superscript circle (Sinhalese, bindu) in gabuli tana — is\
written not merely above, but to the right of the letter with
which it is used.
Undoubtedly the former should be classed with the stroke¬
like Sanskrit virdma and upright al of Sinhalese ; whilst the
later bindu, or dot, is common as well to South Indian Prakrit
manuscripts, and goes as far back as the early lipi of India.
For the use and sound-values of the Maidive sukun, see
supra, pp. 27, 28.
(v.) Writing.
The dives akuru Character is -written in two ways : —
(i.) Ordinary; each akshara being formed separately.
(ii.) Cursive; with two aksharas united, usually by carrying
the Maidive forms of the Sinhalese elapilla or ispilla signs
round the head of its consonant to unite with the next letter.
Samples of (i.), the simpler form of the script, appear in
(a) a list of birudas (eulogistic epithets) of Maldive Sultans
(Plate VIII. 3)^ and ( b ) the dives akuru transcript of the
gabuli tana letter on Plate IX.
* Note the variant Medial signs for long t (Plate VII.).
f In the form employed in the Southern Atolls, a vertical stroke
heads the long 6, both Initial and Medial.
156
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Epithets of Maldive Sultans * * * §
1. SUVASTI SRf-MATTA (? SRI-MATA) t
Hail ! With beauty endowed,
MAHA SRI-BARlf
of great fortune the bearer,
2. KUSA FURADANAf SRI RANNAVAL6kA %
in wisdom pre-eminent, glorious war-lord,
3. abarunaJ siaka sastura
(to the race) the ornament, in arts and sciences
AUDANAf
accomplished,
4. KIRITI KATTIRI BOVANAf MAHA RAD UN.
renowned, a Kshatriya, of the Universe the Great King.
Stanza.
The following “ Stanza” (spelt as written, and quoted from
“ dioqe raivaru,” a favourite Maldivian poem) affords a speci¬
men of both styles : (i.) on Plate VI. ; (ii.) on Plate VIII. 4 : —
1. TAVAAKARI § ERUVI NAO
With sea-coconuts loaded the vessel
2. BAILATE BIHETI NAAFU
was taken out, when going aground, into deep water
3. RARA DIOGE ADANAAFU.
to sail, 0 ! Dioge, to Aden.
The Maldive Islanders are expert and intrepid mariners,
whose picturesque boats (M. odi) may be seen in most Indian
ports, not infrequently.
At times — “ sailing upon different stars (by means of their
effective, if primitive, nautical instruments) in lieu of points
of the compass” — they make greatly adventurous Voyages,
* See, too, supra, p. 54, and Appendix D.
f See infra , Appendix D (Sultan’s Missive: A.D. 1795).
j Sanskrit Randval6ka : lit., “Warfare o’erseer ” (rana, “war,”
“battle” ; avaloka, “ seeing,” “ supervising”). A biruda of the Ras-
(hrakutas (Ep. Ind., VI., 189). Of. A va 16k i t eswara , “ the lord who
looks down (in compassion).” abArtjna (not found in Sultans’
Missives) = perhaps, S. abharar}a, “ornament.”
§ tAvaakAki, “ the hard (shelled) coconut” (c/. S. tdvara, “ firm”).
This, the double-coconut (Lodoicea Seychellarum) , from its fruits being
carried by currents from the Seychelles and cast ashore frequently on
the Maldive Islands obtained the names Coco-de-mer (“ sea coconut ”)
and Cocos-des- Maldives.
In former days it was highly Valued as an imagined sovereign remedy
for all sorts of ailments. See Hak. Soc. Pyrard, I,, 230.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAadivian linguistic studies.
157
from the “ tempest-haunted ” Atolls, in their small, light-
built, but most sea-worthy vessels, as far as Aden, Calcutta,
Penang, Sumatra, &c., braving the storms and formidable
currents which sweep round the Indian Ocean and elsewhere.
Lo ! our barque’s upon the wave.
Dangers of the deep to brave.
Path ’mid ocean-wilds to pave —
To Aden.
Guiding stars with kindly ray
Will direct us on our way
Through the darkness, day by day —
To Aden.
Seas of strife as wide as deep,
Restless waves that never sleep,
Currents of terrific sweep — -
To Aden.
Slender barque of bosom’d sail,
Breasting bold the sternest gale
Till her haven’s light she hail —
At Aden.
II. — “ Gabuli Tana ” Alphabet.
Particulars regarding the gabuli tana Alphabet, and its
use, were afforded by Christopher (1838) : these were partially
reprinted by Gray (1878), and have been touched on by
Geiger (1900).
Details appear in the “ Studies ” (supra, pp. 20-29), in
Appendix A, and in Plates I., II.
Some additional remarks may be offered.
(i.) Variant uses of “Tana” Scripts.
Certain variations in the order of tana script are in vogue
at the Maldives.
The Memoir already quoted says (supra, p. 21)
There are several kinds of tAna writing ; and we are inclined
to think that the one at present used was not so generally adopted
until within the last fifty years, as many tombstones are evidently
inscribed in a character differing from the gabuli tAna : the
letters, at least, have a different sound, and the signs used for
vowel 3 are different.
Nothing seems to be known of tombstone epigraphs other
than those in the Old and Modern Maidive character and
Arabic. It is possible that Young and Christopher may be
158
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XXVlI.
referring to the dives akuru as the unknown tongue ; or to
some chance gravestones of aliens carved in their special
script.*
Artificial transpositions of “ tana writing,” smacking of
semi-secret, semi-apparent “ codes,” employed by social classes
or private individuals, are occasionally indulged in to this
day — apparently pour passer le temps, rather than for any
definite object.
Of these are the “ hara tIna” and “ de-fa(t) tana”
systems — nuances, pure and simple, of no real importance. f
According to the de-fa(t) tana mode, the two halves of
the gabuli tAna (I., II.) are exactly interchanged, i.e., H = M,
r = f, and so on ; whereas in hara tana the mutation is
effected between consecutive letters, i.e., H (hara) = r
(gabuli) ; r (hara) = h (gabuli) ; n (hara) = r (gabuli) ;
R (GABULI) — N (HARA), &C.
In the following Table, Columns I. and II. give the more
usual eighteen (18) letters of the gabuli tana Alphabet
arranged for de-fa(t) tana, so that the first nine balance
the last nine placed opposite to one another ; whilst Columns
III. and IV. show the equivalent hara tana letters matching
those of gabuli tana.
III.
I.
II.
IV.
R
H
M
V
H
R
F
D
R
N
D
F
N
R
T
L
L
B
L
T
B
L
G
V
A
K
V
G
K
A
s
D
M
V
D
S
(a) gabuli tana = Columns I. and II. together.
( b ) de-fa(t) tana = Columns I. and II. opposed.
(c) hara tana = Columns III. and IV. opposed to Columns
I. and II.
* When at Male in 1879, Mr. Bell did not notice any graveyard
records inscribed in scripts other than dives akuru, gabuli tjLna,
and Arabic ; but closer search might possibly have revealed such.
f Abdul Hamid Didi writes :■ — ■“ The hara and de-fa(t) forms of
writing and conversation are still in use among the higher classes of
Maldivians ; sometimes in the presence of ordinary people.”
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies. 159
Examples.
(а) KULA SUNDURA KAATIRI BOVANA MAHA RADUN.
(б) NUBA UDNUTA NASRITI LODADA HAMA TANUD.
(C) UTA DURFUNA AKLINI LOMARA VARA NAFUR.
(ii.) The “ Leyden Vocabulary ” Alphabets.
The sc-called “ archaic variations ” (see supra, p. 25) of
the gabuli tAna Alphabets attributed to Hasan-bin Adam
(“ transmogrified ” by Professor Geiger in Plate I., both
as regards the respective order of their appearance in the
“Leyden Vocabulary” and their true delineation; but cor¬
rectly represented in Plate V.) offer a strange puzzle.
It seems highly improbable, on the one hand, that —
“ Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,”
and that he, or other unsophisticated Maldivian, would have
laid himself out deliberately to invent, from the ordinary
gabuli tAna of his day, spurious alphabets to be foisted on
the erudite Dr. John Leyden as the “divas akuru.”
On the other hand, there is the distinct opinion regarding
Hasan-bin Adam’s linguistic limitations contained in Ahmad
Didi’s Letters (see Appendix B, supra ) ; coupled with the
crushing condemnation, recently put on record by Abdul
Hamid Didi, another son of the Maldivian Prime Minister
Ibrahim Didi, that “the alphabets” are “pure inventions
of Hasan-bin Adam,” concocted to serve private purposes.*
Be the case — if there be any case — what it may for the
genuineness of the two alphabets of the “ Leyden Vocabulary ”
as “archaic variations” of the modem gabuli tAna, of this,
at any rate, there can be no question — they have nothing
whatever to do with the Old Character, the true dives akuru.
* “ The alphabets you have sent me should not be taken seriously as
Maldivian letters. They are pure inventions of Hasan-bin Adam, of
Himiti. He must have composed them in order to prevent others
reading his private writings. It is not the first time that I have seen,
and known, persons writing or inventing such letters for their own
personal use. I enclose herewith a modern specimen of such fancy
letters.
“ The letters contained in the photographic print (Plate V.) cannot,
of course, be called the dives akuru Alphabet : they are, as you
say, formed from gabuli tAna letters.” (Extract from a letter to
Mr. Bell.)
The “specimen” of tAna writing sent — playfully styled ingir£si
(English) tAna — is formed on the stiffest angular lines, not unlike the
form of Column 1 (i. ) on Plate V.
160
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
(iii.) Origin of the “ Gabuli Tana ” Alphabet.
How did the gabuli tXna Alphabet originate ? A simple
explanation, prima facie reasonable, is submitted tentatively.
With the gradual influx of Arab trade and the growing
influence of settlers on the Islands, which culminated in the
Muslim conversion of the Twelfth Century, the continued use
of the cumbrous dives akuru script would steadily become
more and more intolerable ; and must almost inevitably have
given way to some Semitic mode of presenting the Maidive
language in written form easy of expression, besides following
the right-to-left practice of Arabia and Persia.
Hence it is but natural that the Old Writing should come
to be supplanted, as far as practicable, by a simpler system
based on Persi- Arabic lines.
Thus it could easily happen that the devisers of the New
gabuli, or “ Composed,” Alphabet, looking for a satisfactory
basal substitute for the objectionable indigenous form, found
it readily available to a large extent in two sets of Numerals.
These were, presumably, (a) the Maidive Numerals for 1 to
9 — some at least variants, without doubt, of the Sinhalese
Numerals (Plate V. 3) and Lit Akuru (Plate V.* 4),* or other
and possibly closer Indian equivalents — which conveniently
fell into place as the consonants (ten to eighteen) M, f, d, t,
l, G, n, s, d ; whilst ( b ) the ordinary Arabic Numerals of like
values were made to serve for the first nine letters h, r, n,
r, b, L, K, a (or a), v.
For the rest, the Arabic, Persian, and Urdu alphabets
would inevitably suggest adaptations for some at least of the
remaining consonants needed. I
No alphabetic revolution could be more smoothly effected :
happy selection, compromise, and modification would meet all
requirements with the least possible inconvenience.
(iv.) Classified Table of the Maldivian Alphabet.
The arbitrary arrangement of the gabuli tana Alphabet
has naturally destroyed that orderly scientific classification
(Gutturals, Palatals, &c.) founded upon Pronunciation, and
* For the Sinhalese Numerals and Lit Akuru (or Lit Illaklcam), see
C. A. S. Journal, 1S52, Appendix, xlvi., xlvii.
The connection of the Sinhalese 1, 2, 3, and 7 with the Maldive
Numerals is clear ; the others (4, 5, 6, 8, 9) are open to doubt : for
them the Maldivians may have preferred some Indian prototypes.
Maldive s may be an adoption from Persi-Arabic.
f Thus : Christopher’s z with one dot above ; gh, th (or dh) with
three dots below ; p formed by similarly sub-scribing Maldivian F. On
the other hand, c, t, y, j, n appear to be free of Semitic influence.
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies. 161
adopted by Grammarians in dealing with Sinhalese and other
Indian Alphabets, which, there is no reason to doubt, once
ruled also with the DIVES AKURU.
Taking the Consonants and Vowels which at the present
day constitute the full Maldivian Alphabet — Christopher’s gh
and th (or dh) being excluded, but n added — these may be
grouped, according to phonetic values, as follows : — *
DIVISIONS.
CONSONANTS.
VOWELS.
Sped.
Sonant.
Sonant.
Tenues (Hard).
Sibilant.
Mediae (Soft), j
1
ril
"cd
03
a
£
Liquids.
! Sibilant.
Aspirate.
Short.
Long.
1.
Gutturals
K
G
A
—
—
H
A
A
2.
Palatals .
C
—
J
N
Y
—
—
i
1
3.
Cerebrals
T
—
D
N
R L
—
—
—
—
4.
Dentals
T
s
D
N
R L
z
—
—
—
5.
Labials
P
—
B
M
—
—
—
u
tr
6.
Gutturo-Palatals
—
—
—
—
—
—
E
E
7.
Gutturo -Labials .
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
O
6
S.
Dento- Labials . .
F
—
V
—
—
—
—
—
—
9.
Sukun
o
(v.) Old “ Gabuli Tana ” Manuscript.
Various substances have from time to time been utilized in
India and the Far East for writing on — prepared cloth, wooden
boards, bhurja bark, palm leaves, metal plates.
* The classification by A. Mendis Gunasekara, Mudaliyar, in his
Sinhalese Grammar, 1891, p. 22, is adopted, being easy of corhparison in
Ceylon. The sukun, in its nasal capacity, like the binda by Gunasekara,
is put last, unclassified.
Y
17-18
162
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
The comparative poverty of their vegetation and products
no doubt forced the Maidive Islanders to resort to yet another
expedient.
In 1886 the Editor was able, with considerable difficulty,
to procure from the Maldives a couple of old manuscripts,
which proved to be written on strips, about a foot in length
by five inches broad, of the Pandanus odoratissimus (Mal¬
divian, ma-karikeyo ; Sinhalese, vetaJceyiyd).* * * §
The use of this make-shift material had even then long been
superseded by paper on the Group.
The prepared Pandanus leaves are formed into continuous
booklets, of convenient size, by folding each strip in and out
alternately, so as to make the rough inner surface alone avail¬
able for receiving the writing, which is in some kind of “ fast ”
black ink.
Two leaves, photo-lithographed from the more archaic
manuscript,! appear in Plate VIII. Its writing offers striking
comparison with that of the modem Commercial Letter of
about 1875 (Plate IX.).
The short diagonals and vertical down strokes (specially
marked in R, n, and r), the unusual type of p, the per¬
pendicular B, with the general rugged boldness of all the
characters, carry its age back at least to the first half of the
Eighteenth Century, if not earlier.
The writing approaches in style the script of the oldest
extant Missives in gabuli tana sent by the Maidive Sultans
to the Dutch Governors at Colombo annually : Missives
written also to the Commanders at Galle are more recent. J
A transcript of the Arabic and Maldivian letters on the
third leaf (which contains all the first 18 letters of the gabuli
tana Alphabet) is given below. §
The manuscript is a Maldivian fadita fo(t) (Sinhalese,
mantra pota), or “ Charm Book” of love spells, into which a
fair proportion of Arabic enters. ||
* There is an interesting reference to the use of Pandanus leaves, as
a pis-aller for writing material, in the Mahdwansa.
When Jiirig Wattagamini was fleeing from his “ Damila ” enemies,
he hid in the Vessagiri forest, where he was fed by the T|iera Maha
Tissa, of Kuppikala Vihara. “ Thereon the king, glad at heart, record¬
ing it upon a ketaka leaf, allotted lands to his vihara for the use of the
brotherhood.” (Geiger, Mahdwansa, XXXIII., 48-50.)
f This little book, as folded, measures 51 in. by 4§ in., and has 7
pages of 65 lines. The other book is slightly larger.
% The oldest gabuli tana Missive discovered by Mr. Bell in the
Dutch Records Office, Colombo, is dated October 16, 1713.
§ Arabic words are printed in italic capitals.
|| For specimens of Maidive tavIdu, or “charms,” see Bell, Journal,
R.A.S. (Ceylon), 1881, VII., No. 24, pp. 119-124.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies. 163
Professor Geiger devotes a paragraph (supra, p. 5) to a
quotation from Christopher and Young’s Memoir regarding
“ the old animistic worship, the belief in demons and spirits,
in exorcism, and in magic,” which plays an “ important part
in the life of the people (Maldivians),” despite the counter
injunctions of “ Islam, the official religion.”
Side by side with Muhammadism there has continued to exist
an older creed — not the less real because disowned — in demons
and spirits, spells, charms, and the like. Anyone thrown in
contact with the ordinary Islanders (particularly those of the
Southern Atolls) will find demonolatry and nature worship as
rife as of old. if pursued now-a-days less obtrusively.*
Transcript, f
(Top half : right.)
1. ABGEA VI TANA(r) KIAVAI TIR FA
2. HARU ARHER MIHA MUNA(r) FUMELAI
3. AHANI KULAKA(R) BUNEI MUJARRAB
4. FASL VARI TOLA(R) KURAka(r) NI
5. ADURU FATU TIN FATU RASE
6. LULLAEI GEfAnAi IFAHUDINAi
7. HAIDURU masrirxa maghribba
8. HAIDURU upAi bimAi HAI
9. DURU AREA KUMUTTAKA SURUHATTA
(Bottom half : left.)
10. DURU MIAGE DE VERIR DURU MIHER
11. TIR FATU LIENI E(r) FA(r) EAR
12. NE DARU LANI ANE(r) FA(r) EDU DARU
13. VALULANI ANE(R) FA(r) OLI DARU LA
14. NI VARIVEI FASL VARI TOLU BU
15. NAME AILADE RUKUR I TIR BURI
16. VI FAN \KU MEDU BURI VARUGAI
17. DE KENE(R) RU KURAHAI DE BO DEKO
18. la(r) lai vAhaka. VARA ODUR
A translation of the manuscript would be out of place in
the present connection.
* Bell, The Maidive Islands, p. 58.
f Noticeable is the preference given to b (i.) in lieu of the avieni
sign A, for mute terminations— here printed (b) ; (ii.) for the nasal (e.</.,
txb, arheb) ; and (iii.)for duplicating consonants ; also the exceptionally
frequent use (as in Sultans’ Missives of early Eighteenth Century) of
the cerebral n.
164
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
POSTSCRIPT.
What has been said above, so far as it relates to the gabuli
tAna script, is based mainly on the material put together in
1838 by Lieutenant Willmott Christopher,* of the Indian Navy,
and the Plate of the Modern, and a portion of the Old,
Maldivian Alphabet which accompanied it, when printed in
1841.
That Plate was reproduced in a Paper, published in 1878,
by Mr. (now Sir) Albert Gray, formerly of the Ceylon Civil
Service, with a summary, below the Alphabet, of Christopher’s
remarks regarding the sound-values of the letters. (See
Plate II.)
It was only to be expected that, in the fluxion of three-
quarters of a century or more, the form of the Maidive written
character would undergo gradual evolution. Tjiis has been
the natural course in the history of all scripts of long -continued
life.
A comparison of the forms of the letters in Christopher’s
Table (Plate II.), and those appearing in the “ Maldivian
Commercial Letter ” of 1875 circa (Plate IX.), provides
expected testimony to this slow, but no less sure, process of
mutation.
Thanks to the courteous aid of Abdul Hamid Didi Effendi,
the Maldivian Government Representative in Ceylon (who
has himself carefully penned each character), the Editor is
enabled to close this Appendix with a list of the twenty-four
(24) letters which at the present time make up the full mAldivian
alphabet, and exhibit the gabuli tana as it is written now¬
adays, according to best authority.
That steady evolution has continued even since 1875 is
illustrated by the form of the Maldivian characters given in
the Table on page 167.
* For particulars of the gallant death of this brave Officer at Multan,
in 1848, see supra, p. 130 f.
One who knew him intimately wrote : “ Lieutenant Christopher, of
the Indian Navy, was a very old friend of mine — indeed I was his ‘ best
man ’ at his wedding, at Aden, in, I think, 1844. You may depend on
the accuracy of whatever he put on paper. He was an earnestly
religious man." (General H. W. B. Bell, R.E., January 1, 1880.)
The closing words of Christopher’s Letter to Dr. Wilson, in forwarding
his Vocabulary oj the Maldivian Language (MS. in C. A. S. Library),
pathetically bespeak the “Christian Soldier” fated to give a noble life
for his country within a few years : “ (May) you continue to prosper
under the fostering care of Our Heavenly Father.”
165
Extra No. — 1919.] Maldivian linguistic studies.
In the absence of any standardized fount of cast type, the
tendency in manuscript is manifestly towards a “ running
hand,” with its inevitable result— progressive, though un¬
conscious, “ slurring ” of distinctive forms.
The clear difference between such characters as R and n, n
and z, in the gabuli tana of the Old Pandanus Manuscripts,
and the Maidive Sultans’ Missives of the earlier years of the
Eighteenth Century — those of the first quarter of the Nine¬
teenth Century — and, finally, the “ current script ” of the later
Nineteenth and present period of the Twentieth Centuries, is
strongly marked.
Frankly, it must be admitted that the change, thus almost
automatically evolved during a period of two centuries, has
not made for greater distinctness or beauty in the writing :
instead of amelioration, steady chirographic decline is
perceptible. This has been due, without doubt, to the want of
a recognized printed standard ; such, for instance, as has for
long ruled — with certain modifications not affecting its general
bold attractiveness, teres atque rotundas — in the case of Sin¬
halese characters of ola manuscripts and printed books.
The gabuli tana letters which have undergone most
change perhaps, during the course of the past two hundred
years, are b and j.* These do not seem to be used ordinarily
at the present day in their old stilted vertical shape.
The form of cerebral n given by Christopher, that was
holding the field firmly more than a century earlier, appears
to have yielded to the nasal more usually transcribed as
the presumed palatal N.f It is believed that the older form,
as well as the variants of t and c (see Plate II.), may still be
employed at will.
The word ku ;ha, among the birudas of the Sultans in their
Missives of the Eighteenth Century, was written (when not
spelt simply kusa) alternatively by Maldivian dental s with
three dots under, or by the Arabic character for cerebral sh
super-scribed with triple dots.
The present-day gabuli tana Alphabet has been arranged
on page 167 in three Columns, from right to left according to
Maldivian script.
* The strange type of p found in the e adit a fo(t) (see Plate VIII.)
does not occur in Sultans’ Missives.
t Formerly, at least, association of different classes of nasals was
allowable: thus, e.g., htjnna (dental and cerebral). Further, the
honorific plural suffix in maneeufAnijmenna, and the like, appears
with its final nasal looped, but bent to left — apparently the form of
palatal N (Plate I.) now, and may be of old, utilized also for cerebral N
(see Alphabet, p. 167, and cf. d6ne, Plate IV., line 10).
166
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Column I. gives the first nine letters of the Alphabet :
these are virtually the Arabic Numerals 1 to 9.
Column II. shows the next nine, drawn from the Maldivian
Numerals * of like values, several of which find obvious
counterparts in Indian, and Ceylon, Numerical symbols.
In Column III., the remaining six letters are set out, pre¬
sumably in their recognized alphabetic order.
With the list of Maldivian characters, Abdul Hamid Dxdi
further supplied their Persi- Arabic equivalents as written by
Maldivians, appending this important Note : —
We do not use Persi- Arabic letters, unless we find it absolutely
necessary to give Persi-Arabic pronunciation, when writing an
Arabic or Persian word in Maldivian characters. But we could
write Maldivian wholly in Arabic letters, with dots here and
there to represent Maldivian tAna sound, f
This accounts for the absence from the gabuli tana
alphabet of the comparatively little-used characters tran¬
scribed by Christopher (see Plate II.) as gh, th (or dh).
The following points should be noticed.
The penchant for modifying Arabic forms by triple dots
subscript is very marked: see R, G, n, p, c.
The Maldivian sign for p is virtually p, subscribed thrice, or
once : from z the super-script dot {teste Christopher, Plate II.)
has disappeared.
t with quadruple dots above is an Urdu form.
The Arabic letter (here subscribed once and utilized as the
equivalent of l) is usually transcribed by z with dot or line
below.
* Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar’s Missive of A.D. 1749 is dated in
Maldivian Numerals (m n t d) ; as is that of Sultan Ghazi Hasan
Izz-ud-din’s Missive of A.D. 1765 (m n g l), in addition to the Hijra
Year 1178 in Arabic Numerals (h h k a).
t In proof Abdul Hamid Didi gave the Maldivian title dorim±nA
kilagefAnu written in Persi-Arabic characters.
Maldivian “Gabuli Tana” Alphabet, with English and Persi-Arabic equivalents.
167
Extra No. — 1919.] maldivian linguistic studies.
* 'V'D ^ ^ ~
M W «• ft tf
« j. M < >
tc?
:9
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
169
APPENDIX D.
MALDIVIAN LETTERS.
In his Mdldivische Studien, I., 1900, pp. 678-684, Professor
Geiger has copied — according to his own transliteration, and
with independent renderings into German,* but -without
giving the Maidive writing — the only two Maldivian Letters
(Texts, Transcripts, and Translations, in full) which have
been yet published.
It may be well, therefore, to reproduce, in extenso, both
these Letters, as first printed, accompanied in each case by
a Plate in replica showing the Maidive script (see Plates
III., IV.).
I. — Malim’s Letter. Transcript (original Maidive Letter
missing) and literary Translation appear in Christopher’s own
manuscript of 1838, published in the Journal , R.A.S., 1841,
pp. 72-74.
II. — Sultan’s Missive. Appears in Bell’s The Maldive
Islands (Ceylon Sessional Paper XLIII., 1881).
To these is now added a third.
III. — Commercial Letter. This exhibits, side by side, the
two forms of the Maldive Alphabet : (i.) the Ancient, or
dives akuru, and (ii.) the Modern, known as gabuli tana.
I. — Maldive Malim’s Letter : A.D. 1837.
£iThe word-for-word Transcript and Translation, given
below, written out (with a few trifling errors) by Christopher
in his own clear handwriting, were supplemented by a
Summarized Translation from the hand of his Editor, Dr.
J. Wilson, which was subsequently printed in the Asiatic
Society’s Journal ( loc . cit., p. 74). ]
* See ttupra, pp. 49-52, 54-56, for Mrs. Willis’s English rendering
of the German.
Z
17-18
170
JOURNAL, R.A.8. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Transcript*
The following is a specimen of the language. It is a copy
of a letter written by the Maidive Malim of a boat at Colombo
to his countrymen at Galle : —
(1) GALIOAI TIBI DIWEHlNGGE EMME
At Guile stopping, of the Maldives to all
KALUNGNAG
ARABU
ODI
the people
of the Arab
boat
mAlimi
KALEGEFANU
SALAMEN
MIFAHARAG
the Malim
Chief’s
salams.
Now
MI RARHUGAI HURHI ODI EAHARHI
at this port are the boats :
(3) ARABU ODI FINLADU ODI WEDUNG ODI
Arab boat, Finladu boat, Present boat,
FADIYARU ODI
Fandiyaru’s boat,
(4) A IT A MM A DfDI ODI MANDU-GE ODI HITI-
Ahama Didi’s boat, Mandu-house boat, Bitter*
GAS-DARHU-GE ODI MIFAHARAG
tree-comer (house)f boat. At present
(5) EMME KALUNG GADA WE EBA TIBUWEWE
all people in health remain.
TIYA RARHUGAI HURHI
At your port (which) you have
* For the Malim’s Letter, Christopher, in his manuscript, employed
diacriticals ; transliterated Maldivian nasal both as n and kg ; the mute
a at the end of words by G; e by kh, or by doubling the connected
consonant ; and t final by i.
His editor, Dr. Wilson, converted Christopher’s silent a into italic G,
as well as using italics instead of subscribed dots for cerebral consonants ;
inserted a short diagonal stroke at foot between duplicated consonants ;
and changed i into short 1.
Geiger abandoned ng for single N, and i for the original t final ;
adopted n with superscribed dot (here printed n ) for final semi-nasal ;
substituted apostrophe (’) sign for mute A; and r with small superscript v
for bh ; restored diacritical dots ; and utilized hyphens freely.
f Christopher has rendered m,4ndu-g£ and h rn- g a s - d aru - Gt
correctly, except that dartj means “ under.” M. hiti-gas = S.
kohomba-gaha, Azadirachta Indica.
Abdul Hamid Didi writes: — These “Houses” (ge) are both in Male
Island. m.4ndu-g!s is, at the present time, the residence of the ex-
Sult&n’s brothers (mAndu-g& manitoltjn ). hiti, “ bitter ” ; gas.
“ tree ” ; daru (or dord), “ under ” = together ; “ the House under
the Bitter Tree.”
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
171
(6) KABARENG FONUWATl MI RARHUGAI
the news you must send. At this port
HURHI KABARU MI FONUWIE
(which) there is the news I hereby send.
(7) WILATUNG AU BODA sAHIBENG ATUEWE
From Europe a new Governor has arrived.
WILATU RASGE
Of England the King
(8) MARUWEJJEWE LANKA GINA FARHUNG
is dead. Lacs many in strings
SAL A MEN MI RARHU MAS VIKKI
salams. This port’s fish we have sold :
(9) HIMITI MAS HANG DIHA HAI
the Himiti fish for seven tens and seven
RIYALAYAG MALE ATOLU MAS
dollars ; ' the Male Atolu fish
(10) FAS DOLOS 1IATAKAG FADING -FULU
for five twelves and seven ; the Fading-fulu
KIRA MAS * SAL1S-
weighed fish for forty-
(11) HATAKAG MIHIDANG VIKKAIGENG
seven. Thus having sold it
TIBI AG1MIWEWE | LANGKA GINA
we are stopping for the price. Lacs more
|(12) FARHUNG SALAMEN MI L1YUNI MITANGWI
strings salams. This is written here
BARUSFATI DUWAHUNG
on Thursday the day.
(13) MAI KALAGE RUSSEWIYAI SAUDA
If God permits (or pleases) in fourteen
DUWAHU ALUGADU FURANEMEWE
days I shall have sailed ; f
(14) HITAI HURHI MEVE
I have the desire.
* See supra, p. 52. f See supra, p. 55.
172
JOURNAL,, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Translation *
The meaning of the above letter appears to be as follows : —
The Malim of the Arab boat to all the people of the
Maldives stopping at Galle. The Chief’s greeting.^
The boats now at this port are the Arab boat of Finladu, the
Offering boats of Fadiyaru and Ahamma Didi, and the boats
of Mandu-ge and Hiti-gas-darhu-ge.
All the people are in good health.
Send what news you have at your port. I hereby send
what news there is at this port.
A new Governor is come from Europe. The Kang of
England is dead.
Very many greetings.
We have sold at this port, Himiti fish for seventy-seven
dollars, Male Atoll fish for sixty-seven, and Fadingfulu fish
weighed (?) for forty-seven : having sold the fish, we are
waiting for the price.
Vei'y mhny greetings.
This is written on Thursday. If God permits, I shall sail
in fourteen days ; such is my wish.
II. — Missive from the Sultan of the Maldives : A.D. 1795.
[This Missive of A.H. 1210 and its Translation are reproduced
below, with the Notes which accompanied it, virtually as they
were printed in The Mdldive Islands (loc. cit., pp. 78-81 ).
Supplementary matter is given in footnotes. 3
It may strengthen the position assumed by Albert Gray
{Journal, R.A.S., Vol. X., 1878) regarding the affinity of the
Sinhalese and Maidive languages (whilst of interest on other
* Geiger’s Translation (1900) is as follows : —
U ebersetzung : Der Kapitan des Arabischen Schiffes (sendet) an alle
in Galle weilenden Maldivianer Griisse. Die Boote, welche gegen-
wiirtig in diesem Hafen sich befinden, sind die Arabischen Boote, die
Boote des Finladu, die Boote mit den Geschenken, die Boote des
Richters, die Boote des Ahmed Didi, die Boote des Mandu-Hauses und
die Boote des Hiti-gas-darhu-Hauses. Alle Leute sind zu r Zeit wohlauf .
Ihr sollt die Neuigkeiten sebicken, die ihr in eurer Stadt (erfahren) habt ;
ich schioko (auch) die Neuigkci-ton, die wir hier (gehort) habon. Aus
England ist em neuer Gouverneur gekommen. Der Konig von England
ist gestorben. Viele tausend Griisse. Wir verkauften an diesem
Platz Fische (und zwar) solche aus Himiti fur 77 Dollars, solche aus
dem Male-Atoll fur 07, solche aus . . . fur 47 ...
Tausend Griisse. Ich schrieb dies hierorts am Donnerstag. Wenn
es Gott erlaubt, werde ich noch 14 Tage bleiben. Das ist meine
Absicht. (Geiger, Maldivische Studien, I., 680.)
f See supra, p. 52.
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies. 173
grounds) to insert here a facsimile of one of the Annual
Missives of the Maidive Sultans of the Eighteenth Century,
with a Transcript in Roman characters, an English Trans
lation, and some Explanatory Notes.
As will be seen, the proportion of words in this Letter
clearly traceable to Sinhalese, or Sanskrit, sources is large,
amounting to at least 65 per cent.
Transcript *
HUWA'L OH AN I
(1) SUVASTI SIRIMATA MAHA SIRI-BARI KUSA FURADA
(2) NA SIRI KTTT.A SADA IRA SIAKA SASTURA AUDANA KA
(3) ATIRI AS-SVLTAN HASAN NUR-VD-DIN ISKANDAR KAA
TIRI BOWANA
(4) MAHA RADUN KOLUBU GORUNUDOREWE K1YA RASGE-
fana(a) mita(a)
(5) LAAKA HAS FARUA SALAM MAN1KUFANUMEAGE KOLU-
BUGAI IHU U
(6) LUAVT RAS-RAS-KALUANAI MI DIVEHI RAAJEGAI IHU ULUA
(7) VI RAS-RAS-KALUANAI RAHMATRIKAA BEIIEATEVI FADAIA
ME MANI
(8) KUFANAI TIMAA MANIKUFANU HIAFULUGA1 RAH MAT
BAH A A T AV AIGE A HUANE
(9) VIME M ANIKUFANUME A KIBAIA EDI TIBIMAVE MI
DIVEHI RAAJEIA ODI
(10) YE DONE(A)f BEHIGEA GOS MANIKUFANA( A ) RHABAR1
VE TANAKU TIBI NA
* Bell (The Maidive Islands, 1882, p. 78) followed Christopher’s
system of transliteration generally, except in using (i.) n (anuswdra)
for his ng, where some nasal pronunciation seemed required, and (ii.)
the apostrophe (’) where it seemed to be mute.
In the Editor’s footnotes to Geiger’s Maldivian Studies, as well as
the present reprint of the Sultan’s Missive of A.D. 1795, each Maidive
character has been transcribed by an equivalent single Roman letter,
irrespective of pronunciation. Maldivo avieni sign, shown as A, bears
various sound values, according to its usage in Maldivian, whether nasal,
duplicative, or simply a mute termination (a). For eh, b is adopted.
Words, or portions, written in Arabio are printed in italic capitals.
f Several other spellings (e.g., d6niye, d6nne) ; but all with n
(presumed palatal, or variant cerebral), singly or second. Maldivians
usually style their Voyaging Vessels euradi odi, or daturu odi.
174
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XXVII.
(11) MA E BAYAKU GEADAVAI E MIHUAGE ItAIlXllN JKAa
EJ'JALA VU31AI 31.1 D1VEHI
(12) raajea(a) adAvAateriaku manikufAna(a) egiaje
NAMA E BAYAKA(A)
(13) MANIKUFAnUMEA NU-RUSSEVUMEVE MANIKUFANU-
MEANAI ARAF6DIGEA-
(14) nu4a kuda hadiyA kola-kAi ABM AD KUDA BADERI
KEVI Til FONUAVJMU MI A
(15) lA deanevi kame(a) kuraavai mi alua kibain
TARSIRV( A) VIAS MV'AF
(16) KURAAVAI AAVALU MUSUMUGAI FURUVA-KAMA( a) EDI
VADAIGEA HUANE
17) VIME 1210 SAN AT.
Translation.*
He (God) is bountiful (lit., the richest) !
Hail ! Sultan Hasan Nur-ud-din Iskandar ,f Mighty Monarch
of the Universe, a Kshatriya, endowed with beauty, possessed
of great wealth, who imparts wisdom, (born) of illustrious race
resembling the sun and moon, conversant with arts and sciences,
of unsullied (fame), to the Ruler, namely, the Governor of
Colombo. J countless (lit., many million-fold) salutations !
* The German Translation of 1900 runs
Uebersetzung : Heil ! Von dem glorreichen, hoch-beruhmten, hoch-
woisen, aus edlem Geschlecht entsprossenen, dem Mond un der
Sonne vergleichbaren Herrscher, dem heldenhaften Krieger, Sultan
Hasan Nur-ud-din Iskandar, dom Krieger, dem Grosskonige der Erde
an den Konig des Gouverneurs in Colombo von hier viele tausend
Grusse. Wie zwischen dem friiheren Konige Eurer Exeellenz in
Colombo und dem friiheren Konige dieses Maldivischen Reiches
Preundschaft bestanden hat, so tragen wir auch zu Eursr Exeellenz
Freundschaft im Herzen, und wir wiinschen (das Gleiche) von Eurer
Exeellenz. Sollte irgend ein Boot oder Fahrzeug dieses Landes
verschlagen werden, so sollst du, wemi cs ein Eurer Exeellenz bekann ter
Platz ist, die Leute holen und fur ihr Wohlergehen sorgen. Wenn
Eurer Exeellenz jemand bekannt wild, der diesem Lande fiendlich
gesinnt ist, soil Eure Exeellenz es nicht dulden Obwohl es der Wurde
Eurer Exeellenz nicht entspricht, habe ieh dir durch den Untersohatz-
meistor Ahmed ein kleines Geschenk geschickt. Wenn er einen
Wimsch aussert, sollst du ihn erfiillen, wenn ein Versehen von seiner
Seite vorkommt, sollst du es verzeihen. Mit dem ersten Monsun
erwarte ieh seine Zuruckkunft. (Geiger, loc. cit., 083-684).
f “ The Maidive Sultans have assumed the fulsome cognomen
Iskandar — applied by Arab and Persian writers to Alexander the Great
(iskandar al Runi) — perhaps by virtue of supposed descent from the
wide-ruling Iskandar DhuVlkarnein ('the two-horned ’)> a traditional
Persian King of the First Race, contemporary of Abraham, and tenth
descendant from Noah.” ( The Maidive. Islands, p. 76.)
J See supra, p. 56.
175
Extra No. — 1919.1 mAldivian linguistic studies.
I
As the former Rulers at Colombo — Your Excellency’s
predecessors — and the former Rulers of this Island Kingdom
(Maldives) preserved mutual friendship, Your Excellency and
Ourselves have borne (reciprocal) friendship in our hearts.
May this (amity) continue on Your Excellency’s part !
Should any odi or doni (Maldivc boats) be driven ashore
at any place until which (Your Excellency) is acquainted,
(We request that Your Excellency will kindly) send for those
(shipwrecked) persons, and enquire into their wants.*
(Further) should Your Excellency be aware of any persons
ill-disposed towards this Island Kingdom, (Wc, also, request
that Your Excellency will be pleased to) show them no
countenance.
For Your Excellency’s acceptance we send — all unworthy
though it be — a small present by the hands of (Our Ambas¬
sador) Ahmad Kvda Baderi Kevi.-\
(We beg Your Excellency will kindly) issue directions that
his requests be attended to.
If he commit any fault (We hope that Your Excellency will)
pardon it.
(We trust that Your Excellency will) allow him to return
in the favourable monsoon. { A.H. 1210 (A.D. 1795).
Reply of the Dutch Governor.
£ The Reply of the Dutch Governor, J. G. van Angelbeck,
to the Missive of the Sultan, despatched from Colombo on
December 2, 1795, is couched in equally friendly terms : — |
A AN DEN GELUKKIGEN SULTAN HASSEN NOOREDIEN ISKANDER.
KONING DER MALDIVOS.
Ik heb de eer gehad Uwer Hoogheids brief, en de daar
nevens gezondene geschenken, uit handen van Uwer Hoogheids
Zendeling, Agamadoe Koeda Ba,nderie Kevjie, wel te outvangen;
waar voor ik Uwe Hoogheid zeer vriendlijk bedanke.
Dat Uwe Hoogheid geneigd is vriendschap met my te
onderhouden, strekt my tot veel genoegen; en ik zal niet
nalaaten, zoo veel mogelijk, alles toetebrengen, wat dt-eze
vriendschap duurzaam kan maaken.
Nevens deezen biede ik Uwe Hoogheid zoodanige goederen
aan, als by de ingeslootene Notietsie vermeld staan, met
vriendelijk myner geneegenheid te willen akcepteeren.
* See supra, p. 57.
f This “ Assistant (lit., Small) Treasurer ” was sent also in 1793 and
1794.
J See supra, p. 58.
176
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
Voorts bid ik God, dat Hy Uwe Hoogkeid gelieve ’te zegenen
met gezondheid en voorspoed, en Uwer Hoogheids Regeering
steeds gelukkig te doen zijn, tot noch een reex van jaare.
Kolumbo , den 2nd December , 1795. 3
Notes * * * §
(i.) The magniloquent birudas, (i great swelling words of
vanity,” employed by the Sultans in their Annual Missives
to the Ceylon Governors, have strangely waxed and waned
since the commencement of the Eighteenth Century, f
Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar (A.D. 1721-1740) was content to
affix to his name rannavaloka maha radun. J
In 1750, under Sultan Mukarram Muhammad Jmad-ud-din,
Maldivian official bombast reached the height beginning
suvasti, &c.,§ and attained its zenith some twenty or thirty
years later. ||
Re-action then ensued ; and in letters subsequent to 1805
circa , the Sultan’s Arabic titles were followed merely by the
epithets kula sundura kaatiri bowana maha radun —
“ expressions ” which Christopher considered “ unexplainable
at the present day.” Tj
(ii.) suvasti maha radun. — Adopting [provi¬
sionally] the translation given above, the Sultan’s title may be
rendered into Sinhalese as follows : — Sepa vevd : srimatvu :
maha sri dharanndvu : prajnd pradkdna karanndvu ( Icalyana
* In the elucidation of those birudas valuable aid was received, in
1881, from the late learned scholars Waskaduwo Subhuti Unnanse,
Dhammaloka Unnanse, of Ratmalana, and B. Gunasekara, Mudaliyar.
Chief Translator to Government.
Suggestions very kindly offered by A. Mendis Gunasekara, Mudaliyar,
appear in some of tho present footnotes to the Notes.
f By gracious permission of the Ceylon Government, Mr. Bell was
enabled to have all surviving originals of these Missives (i.) photographed
and (ii.) lithographed to exact size, at his own charges. Some of the
Missives are choice specimens of calligraphy, written both in red and
in black characters. There are many gaps. The earliest Missive in
gabuli tAna characters discovered in the Dutch Records Office,
Colombo, is dated 1713 ; the latest 1825. They await editing.
\ First appears in extant' Missive of 1732. Prior Missives seem to
contain no birudas.
§ His first Missive (September, 1750) opens : suvasti sirImata
MAH.A smf NAVA R ANN A kIrITI AUDAnA.
|| Variant epithets, dropped later, are: ran-mIba, danAla, vira-
singa, auda, which occur combined with more usual birudas.
U The epithets mean: “ Great Ruler of the World, a Kshatriya of
pure race.”
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
177
ddyakavu) : sri vansa $ti : hira sanda banduvu : pratyaksha
sdstra dhdrivu : subhra ( kirti ) eti : Kshatriya vansa $ti : lokayk
Mahd Raja.
(iii.) matta sir! bari. — S. mahd sri-bhdri, “possessed of
immense (lit., great weight of) glory (or wealth).” Cf. siri
bar a in preamble of mediaeval Sinhalese inscriptions.*
In place of bari some Missives give diri, which may =
S. dula, “ glittering,” “ splendid,” through dili.*
(iv.) kusa furadAna. — Taken [provisionally] as = S. kusa
pradhana. Besides the meanings (a) prajhdva, “wisdom,”
or ( b ) kalydna, “ goodness,” assigned here to kusa, the
compound will also bear the sense (c) S. jala pradhanavu,
“Lord of Waters,” i.e., the Ocean, and (d) “Chief of Kusa
( Dwipa ),” a division of the universe.]* Some Missives read
KUSHA.
(v.) sad a ira. — The order of Sanskrit compounds is
followed ; ira (for hira) sanda = sanda ira.
(vi.) siAka sAstura. — For siaka, Subhuti Unnanse proposed
Hindi sisdna, “ clever ” ; rendering the compound (a) daksha
anusasakavu, “ skilful teacher,” or “ commander,” ( b ) dhurla
janayata satruvu, “ enemy of wicked men.”
Dhammaloka Unnanse, deriving siAka from the Sanskrit
say aka, “ bow,” translated (c) dhanurdhravu, “ skilled with
the bow.”
B. Gunasekara, Mudaliyar, suggested (d) Shidka satura
(satru), “ enemy of the Shias,” the Maldivians being Sunnis ;
(e) S. siya, “own” + aka (Sanskrit aksha, “organs of
sense”), “subduer of (his) passions”; (/) siya + aka,
“eye” = pratyaksha , and sastura = sdstruvu, “experienced
teacher.” |
* Cf., too, Sribhara (lit., “ bearer of wealth or glory”): one of the
birudas of a Seventh Century Pallava King, probably Narasinha-
varman I. fEpigraphia Indica, X., p. 5). A. Mendis Gunasekara,
Mudaliyar, would derive diri from the Sanskrit dhira, “learned,”
“ brave ” ; which seems preferable.
t As the Maidive Rulers style themselves in Arabic, on their Coins,
as-sijltAn ul bar wa’l bahAr, “ Sultan of Land and Sea,” the
epithet kusa furadAna may, perhaps, be better translated “Lord of
the Ocean ” (S. jala pradhanavu).
\ Taking siAka sAstura audAna kaatiri together, A. Mendis
Gunasekara, Mudaliyar, would translate : “ The Kshatriya (Ruler,
famed for) heroism (or glorious achievements, secured by the power)
of hia (Sanskrit awakiya) arms (Sanskrit sastra)."
2 A
17-18
178
■JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVIT.
(vii.) audana. — Perhaps — Sanskrit avadata, “white,”
“unsullied.”* Appears almost invariably in immediate
connection with kiriti, “renowned” (S. kirti, “fame ”).
(viii.) bowana. — Older Missives give the truer form buwana
(S. bhuwana, “world,” “ universe ”).f
(ix.) rasge-fanu. — In early Missives of the Eighteenth
Century sometimes written radunge-fanu ; rasge-fananse.
fanu, fananse. — S. vahanse, honorific affix, by consonantal
change through vananse.
(x.) maniku -fanu -men.— Euphemistic plural-singular.
(xi.) fadaia -me. — “ As,” “ in the manner” = S . paridden,
by rejection of liquid medial consonant : me - S. ma, intensive
suffix.
(xii.) hi a -fulu-gai. — “In mind,” locative — hit (S. kite)
fulu (honorific) gai (gatun, “ near ”), by euphonic assimila¬
tion.
(xiii.) behigea gos. — S . behigana ( bahinavd , “to descend”)
gos: Pyrard, behigue, “sailing with Iho wind and current ” :
Drake’s (old English) “ spooming along before the sea.”
(xiv.) ar afodtoe a -nuva . — “ In all humbleness,” “unworthy
though (the giver and the present) be.”
Alternative forms in older Missives : ara hodi, arai hodi,
ARANU HODE, ARA1NU HODE.
CJ Pyrard, vedon a rouesrou [vedun aruvaifu], “the
present paid to a delegate of the Sultan”; and Maidive
Malim’s Letter, vedun opi, “ Present boat.”
(xv.) ba Deri. — Originally confined to the “Treasurer,” or
'Keeper of the Royal Stores (S. Bhanddgdrikd) . The title, like
Ba-idara, Sandd, in Ceylon, gradually acquired a wider use,
though at first restricted to persons of high birth.
(xvi.) kevj. — Perhaps = nf.vi, “ tindal.”
(xvii.) alu-gadu, alu-GADU-men. — The ordinary designation
employed by Maldivian Sultans and nobles when writing of
themselves in the first person.
♦Whence Sanskrit avaddna, “glorious,” “heroic” (see supra, p.
57, 3). Avaddna also means “ dividing.” i
t bowana maha badtjn. CJ. Sanskrit bhupati nayaka, “ Chief of
Kings ” ( A. Mendis Gunasekara, Mudaliyar).
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
179
(xviii.) gadu, kolu, fulu. — Honorific suffixes, generally
implying connection with Royalty.
(xix.) aav alu . . . huanevime. — Periphrasis for the
simpler expression, occasionally found in these Missives,
daturu (Hindustani jatra) avas-kuraavai, “(kindly) hasten
(his return) voyage.”
vadaigen. — Cf. the respectful use of Sinhalese vadinavd,
as applied to Buddhist Priests, &c.
Consonant and Voivel Changes .*
Some ruling Vowel and Consonantal changes from Sinhalese
into Maldivian are noticeable in this Missive : —
(i.) Consonants.
Sinhalese t becomes Maidive r : S. pata ; M. farua ; r: S.
pitatvenavd ; M. furuva.
Sinhalese d becomes Maidive h : S. das ; M. has.
Sinhalese n becomes Maidive l : S. unna ; M. ulua.
Sinhalese p becomes Maidive f : S. pradhdna ; M. furadAna.
Sinhalese v becomes Maidive f : S. evanavd ; M. fonuavimu.
(ii.) Voivels.
Sinhalese a becomes Maidive e : S. danvanava, balavanavd ;
M. DEANEVI, BEALAVUMAI.
Sinhalese a becomes Maidive I : S. tamun ; M. timaa.
Sinhalese a becomes Maidive o: S. evanavd; M. fonua-
vimu.
Sinhalese a becomes Maidive u: S. ihata, Jcaravanavd ; M.
IHU, KURAAVAI.
Sinhalese i becomes Maidive u : S. innavd; M. huanevime.
Sinhalese u becomes Maidive A : S. tamun ; M. timaa.
Sinhalese u becomes Maidive o : S. bhuvana ; M. bovana.
Sinhalese e becomes Maidive I : S. mi, tibenava ; M. mi,
TIBI.
Sinhalese o becomes Maidive u : S. no-rusanavd ; M. nu-
RUSSEVUMEVE.
Sinhalese e becomes Maidive E ; A : S. h?ngenavd, tena ;
M. EGIAJE ; TANAKU.
* See supra, p. 135, for James de Alwis’s similar comparison, and
passim for Geiger’s.
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
180
(iii.) Exotic Words.
Independent of Sinhalese, many words, purely foreign, or
of probable foreign origin, occur : —
Persi-Arabic. — Iskandar, saldm, rahmat, khabar, add,
hadiyd, taksir, mu'df, musimu, sanat.
Tamil. — done (T. toni), biita (c/. T. michcham), ras (c/. T.
arasan), opi (T. odam), ala, alun (cf. T. al).
Malay. — edi (? Malay ada, “ be ”).
Portuguese . — ooritnudore* (Dutch, Gouverneur : cf. S.
Governadoru) .
III. — Maidive Commercial Letter : A.D. 1875 circa.
The Letter in gabuli tana (of which a line-for-line Transcript
in dives akuru f is given to right on Plate IX.), though
short, and purely a “ Business Communication,” will not,
as doubly reproduced, be without some service towards
a comparative study of the Old and Modern Maidive
Alphabets.
It was written in the Seventies of the Nineteenth Century,
by Ali Didi Dorhimena-kilagefanu, a Maldivian nobleman then
resident at Galle, J where his son, the present Prime Minister,
Ibrahim Didi Dorhimena-kilagefanu, and one grandson, Ahmad
Didi Ivuda Dorhimena-kilagefanu, were educated.
* gorunudOre, “ Governor.” The latter portion is not (as presumed
in 1882) = T. turai, “lord,” &c. : the complete word is a corruption,
doubtless through Portuguese, of the Latin Gubcrnator. The trans¬
literation greatly exercised the Maldivian State Secretaries; for the first
part of the word appears in Missives under a variety of forms (e.g.,
govorana, goruna, gorna, govan, goun, and a dozen others), more
or l<pss close. Of the “ Commander ” at Galle, they made kubud6ru.
f The two texts only differ in the dives akuru version omitting
the Arabic heading, and inserting salam at the end in place of the
signature (illegible) at foot of the gabuli tAna writing.
t Ali Didi died in 1878. “Much of his (Ahmad Didi, a relative
of Sultan Muhammad Muin-ud-din, A.D. 1799-1835) ability was
inherited by his son Ali Didi (recommended by the Sultan in 1850 to the
notice of Lord Torrington), who became a domiciled Ceylon subject,
and resided at Galle until his death.” (Bell, The Maidive Islands,
p. 37.)
Extra No. — 1919.] mAldivian linguistic studies.
181
Transcript *
AL-HAMD U-L1LLAH
(1) dorimenA-kilagefanurge salAr
Of Dorhimena-kilagefanu the salutation
(2) HURTEVE MUHAMMAD MARARKARA DEKALU
is (sent) to Muhammad Marakkar, two persons.
(3) rna(r) isfinisge adartuo
Of the Spanish Agency
(4) a Agu b6tu(r) genA hadUluge
in the steamer f (which was) brought for the rice
nAlu
the freight
(5) E fMIHUNA(R) NU-DIGER TIYA ULE
to those persons not given that doing
(6) NI KIRWEGER-HE ADU SITIYE
why to-day a letter
(7) (t) eba fonuviye nAliha(r) higAdA
they have sent, proceedings will have
(8) NAME KIyA E RUFIyA E
to go forth saying. That money to those
mihurna(r)
persons
(9)
libenego(t)
avaha(r)
hadAreve
of receiving
soon
(the means) make.
(10)
MI SITI
LIUNI
mai(r) 17
This letter
is written
on May 17th. {
* The preference of the writer, like that of the author of the fadita
fo(t) (see supra , p. 163), for r, as, on the other hand, of the official
soribe who penned the Sultan’s Missive of A.H. 1210 (A.D. 1795) for
avieni (a), may be contrasted, in interesting confirmation of the
unsettled orthography of Maldivian words, permitting alternative use
of these letters, according to fancy.
t See supra, p. 68, note *. Agu is not onomatdpoetic for “ cargo ” :
it is from Hindustani ay, “steam” (c /. dg-lca-alat, “steam engine”).
Other Hindustani derivatives are adartuo, nAlu (c/. Arabic naul,
“freight”), naiAha (e/. Persian nala-gl, “ complaint”).— B., Ed.
t Year not given, but probably about 1875, or earlier.
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXVII.
I 82
Translation.
Praise be to God, the Most Highest !
The compliments (lit., salam) of (Ali Didi) Dorhim^na-
kilagefanu to Muhammad Marakkar Brothers (or Company).
Owing to the non-payment of the freight due on, the rice
brought” by the steamer of the Spanish Agency, they (the
Agents) have sent a letter to-day enquiring why it has not
been paid, and intimating that legal proceedings will have to
be instituted.
Please, therefore, take necessary action, so that they (the
Agents) may get the money soon.
(Dated) May 17.*
* See footnote % on page 18l, supra.
Journ. ll.A.S. (Ceylon), Extra No., 1919.
vrv. i^iii i*II1Hi*|iiiI
PLATE I.
' W. Geiger, Mdldimseke Studien 1. ' ■
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Journ. R.A.S.. (Ceylon), Extra No., 1919.
PLATE HI.
MATLBT7IIAW ILlE'ETITiEIRo
.9
H- ' P \ •
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Apothecaries' Co., photo.
Survey Office hall-tone block.
Apothecaries’ Co., photo. Survey Office half-tone block.
Journ. R.A.S. (Ceylon), Extra No., 1919. PLATE IV.
Joum. R.A.S. (Ceylon), Extra No., 1919.
1.
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PLATE V.
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Survey Office half-tone block.
Journ. R.A.S. (Ceylon), Extra No., 1919.
PLATE V.*
4.
4. SINHALESE “ LIT AKUBU.”
[ These run from 1 to 60.]
The figures in Column 3, Plate V., are more
correctly styled “ Sinhalese Numerals.”
Joum. R.A.S, (Ceylon), Extra No., 1919.
PLATE VI.
H
3
'V - -
M
*0
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2
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“DIVES AXITRU.” OR OI 0 MALD1VE, ALPHABET.
Survey Office half-tone block.
Joum. R.A.S. [Ceylon), Extra No., 1919.
PLATE VII.
Apothecary' Go., photo.
“DIVES AKURH,” OR U> MiXDIVE, ALPHABET.
Survey Office half-tone block.
Journ. li.A.S. [Ceylon), Extra No., 1919.
PLATE VIII.
Apothecaries’ Co., photo.
Bottom.
OLD “GABULI TANA MANUSCRIPT.
Top.
Survey Office half-tone block.
Journ. JR A.S {Ceylon), Extra No , 1919.
PLATE IX.
Apothecaries' Co., photo.
“ Gabuli Tana.”
mXli*v:s letter.
“ Dives Akuru.”
Survey Office half-lone block.
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